Magellan Asset Management Ltd Invests $12.29 Million in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Magellan Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 320,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,289,000. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.11% of Essential Utilities at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,280,829,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $154,176,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth about $92,467,000. Amundi lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,335,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 611.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,744,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $40.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.64. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.10 and a 1 year high of $42.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.97.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The business had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 73.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,073.85. This trade represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.