Synergy Asset Management LLC Has $2.53 Million Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Synergy Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,769 shares during the quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 256.7% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 4,018 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 50.4% during the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 20,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 6,980 shares during the last quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 114.4% during the second quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 137,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,283,000 after buying an additional 73,600 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 8.5% during the second quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 9,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 197.3% during the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 4,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 2,833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $40.44 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.10 and a 12 month high of $42.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63 and a beta of 0.64.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.The firm had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.3606 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on WTRG. Barclays raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total transaction of $112,915.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,073.85. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.