Machina Capital S.A.S. Invests $262,000 in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 604.0% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 78.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 4,210.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 250.0% in the third quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 1,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WTRG. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $38.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,900,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,794,969. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.62. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $43.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $35.94 and its 200 day moving average is $35.93.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3071 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.29%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at $488,368.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Profile

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.