Robert A. Rubin Sells 2,342 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stock

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $87,661.06. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

WTRG stock opened at $36.78 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.83. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.07 and a 1 year high of $43.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $37.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.74.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.03). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. The company had revenue of $612.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $747.44 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 235,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,096,000 after purchasing an additional 29,372 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 121,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,624,000 after purchasing an additional 20,941 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 94.0% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 81,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,808,000 after purchasing an additional 39,643 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,583,000. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 9.9% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 34,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Essential Utilities

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.