Boston Trust Walden Corp Lowers Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Boston Trust Walden Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,463,461 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,987 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $94,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,547,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,430,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted 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 purchasing an additional 741,587 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $3,566,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of WTRG opened at $40.44 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.10 and a 12-month high of $42.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.90. 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 results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 73.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,073.85. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.