Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Short Interest Down 15.9% in April

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,258,170 shares, a drop of 15.9% from the March 31st total of 5,066,077 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,011,737 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of WTRG traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,478,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,409,077. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $36.32 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.39. The company has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $699.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.60 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.91% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The company’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 61.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Argus upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.20.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1,163.8% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

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.