Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Has $272,000 Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lowered its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 28.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,286 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,937 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $87,661.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.40.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.2 %

Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.51. 1,236,894 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,486,326. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.20. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.07 and a twelve month high of $41.78.

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 company had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. Research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.29%.

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.