Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Sold by Intrua Financial LLC

Intrua Financial LLC reduced its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,282 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,372 shares during the quarter. Intrua Financial LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $638,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 107,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,239,000 after acquiring an additional 4,015 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2,134.4% in the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 6,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 6,382 shares in the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 45.1% in the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 103,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,072,000 after acquiring an additional 32,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 55.0% in the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 30,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 10,699 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $39.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.69. The stock has a market cap of $11.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $476.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $472.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 56.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W lowered Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price (down from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.57.

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.