M&T Bank Corp Decreases Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

M&T Bank Corp decreased its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 51,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 683 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Choreo LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 3.1% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 10,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 10,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.0% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 12,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $38.78 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $32.07 and a one year high of $43.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.80.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.3071 dividend. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 58.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at $488,368.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

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.