Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Short Interest Update

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 5,408,230 shares, a drop of 31.0% from the February 26th total of 7,835,006 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,196,974 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in Essential Utilities by 1,163.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Argus upgraded Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.20.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

WTRG stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,311,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,397,887. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.18. Essential Utilities has a 52-week low of $36.32 and a 52-week high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $11.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.99%.

About Essential Utilities

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.