506,900 Shares in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Acquired by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 506,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,419,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.18% of Essential Utilities as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $1,430,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $638,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,566,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 9.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,473,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,343,000 after purchasing an additional 132,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Christine Messmer PC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,246,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.3%

WTRG stock opened at $41.06 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.10 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.08.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The business had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.3606 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 73.47%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities 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 value of $112,915.25. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,073.85. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.