Profund Advisors LLC Sells 1,661 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Profund Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 19.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,896 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,661 shares during the quarter. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,943,000 after purchasing an additional 15,110 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 79,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,961,000 after buying an additional 9,112 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 21,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 2,107 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $38.40 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.02. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.85.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The business had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.