8,477 Shares in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Bought by Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its position in Essential Utilities by 857.5% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 246.0% in the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.40.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $87,661.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $38.46 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.07 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.62 and a 200 day moving average of $37.73. The stock has a market cap of $10.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.85.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.3255 dividend. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

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.