Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Stock: First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Boosts Holdings

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 108.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,056 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,099 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,280,829,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 5.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,119,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,595,000 after buying an additional 687,688 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at approximately $134,247,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 3.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,881,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,049,000 after buying an additional 106,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at approximately $92,467,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $40.20 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.20. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.10 and a 12 month high of $42.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a $0.3606 dividend. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3426. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 73.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,073.85. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WTRG. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Essential Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.75.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides essential water, wastewater and natural gas services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. Its water operations include the treatment, distribution and supply of drinking water, while its wastewater business manages the collection and treatment of sewage. The company also distributes natural gas through regulated utility operations.

The company serves customers across several U.S. states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, Georgia and West Virginia.