Odyssean LLC Buys New Stake in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Odyssean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 79,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,036,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $41.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.10 and a 52-week high of $42.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.20. The company has a market capitalization of $11.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.64.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In other news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essential Utilities 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.