Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Has $1.15 Million Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lessened its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,690 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,651 shares during the quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 10,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 78.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 10,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.0% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 12,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,626,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,813,910. The stock has a market cap of $9.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.07 and a 52 week high of $44.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.69.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 24.26%. The company had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.50 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.3071 dividend. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 66.13%.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, or natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It offers water services through operating and maintenance contract with municipal authorities and other parties.