Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Short Interest Down 31.0% in March

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 5,408,230 shares, a decrease of 31.0% from the February 26th total of 7,835,006 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,196,974 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,311,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,030,520. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $11.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 0.81. Essential Utilities has a one year low of $36.32 and a one year high of $42.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.19.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $699.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.60 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 24.91%.The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1,163.8% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Northcoast Research raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays set a $38.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.20.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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.