Silver Lake Advisory LLC Has $3.12 Million Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Silver Lake Advisory LLC decreased its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,576 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,238 shares during the quarter. Essential Utilities makes up approximately 1.7% of Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 257,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,609,000 after buying an additional 26,197 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 3,069,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,641,000 after buying an additional 313,277 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 358,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,403,000 after buying an additional 10,913 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Gitterman Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.1 %

Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $37.26. The stock had a trading volume of 425,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,792,051. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $43.74. The company has a market capitalization of $10.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 24.26%. The business had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3071 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 66.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, or natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It offers water services through operating and maintenance contract with municipal authorities and other parties.