Short Interest in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Drops By 31.0%

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position 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, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG traded down $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.37. 1,311,405 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,397,887. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $36.32 and a fifty-two week high of $42.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.18. The firm 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $699.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.60 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 24.91%.Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.