Hsbc Holdings PLC Reduces Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 81.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,090 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75,738 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $691,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 83,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,191,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 8,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $40.42 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.10 and a twelve month high of $42.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.88.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.07). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.34% and a net margin of 21.82%.The firm had revenue of $861.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.80.

Essential Utilities 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.