Yousif Capital Management LLC Purchases 2,371 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 117,045 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,371 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 235,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,096,000 after buying an additional 29,372 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 94.0% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 81,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,808,000 after purchasing an additional 39,643 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 34,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $3,583,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,168,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $932,698,000 after acquiring an additional 99,560 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $36.09 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.07 and a 1 year high of $43.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.74.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 24.26%. The company had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.3071 dividend. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 66.13%.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, or natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It offers water services through operating and maintenance contract with municipal authorities and other parties.