Two Sigma Securities LLC Acquires New Shares in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.2%

WTRG opened at $41.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.78. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $36.10 and a one year high of $42.37. The company has a market cap of $11.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.14.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. 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 analysts’ expectations of $538.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 73.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WTRG shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In related news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total transaction of $112,915.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 17,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,073.85. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.