Community Bank N.A. Acquires 1,233 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Community Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,041 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the quarter. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 162.0% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 22,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $823,000 after acquiring an additional 13,630 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 117,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,372,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $116,000. Finally, Aspire Private Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $791,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.4 %

WTRG stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $36.68. The company had a trading volume of 497,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,817,947. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.07 and a 52-week high of $43.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.26% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3071 per share. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities 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.