Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 93,657 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lessened its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 90.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,363 shares of the company’s stock after selling 93,657 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,547,000. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $638,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,430,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,539,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,163,000 after acquiring an additional 741,587 shares during the period. Finally, Christine Messmer PC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,246,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $686,073.85. This trade represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WTRG shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.7%

WTRG opened at $39.81 on Thursday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.10 and a 12 month high of $42.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.89.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

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.