GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $116,000 in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 604.0% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 78.9% during 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. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4,210.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 1,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One 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 a consensus price target of $43.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of WTRG opened at $36.09 on Monday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.07 and a 1-year high of $43.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3071 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 66.13%.

About Essential Utilities

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.