Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,258,170 shares, a drop of 15.9% from the March 31st total of 5,066,077 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,011,737 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Argus upgraded Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.20.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:WTRG traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.10. The company had a trading volume of 319,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,422,420. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.80. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $36.32 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The firm has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.39.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.11. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 24.91%.The business had revenue of $699.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $638,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 122.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,308,000 after purchasing an additional 519,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.