Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 7,200 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 543,918 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,200 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Essential Utilities worth $20,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 101.8% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.10 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $42.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.79. The stock has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $462.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.57.

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.