Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 229,622 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,507 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned about 0.08% of Essential Utilities worth $8,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 10,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $912,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 24,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,277 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 257,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,609,000 after purchasing an additional 26,197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,100.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

WTRG traded up $0.52 during trading on Monday, hitting $38.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,119,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,793,751. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $32.07 and a one year high of $43.74. The firm has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.93.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.3071 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 58.29%.

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.