Choreo LLC Has $366,000 Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Choreo LLC lowered its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,791 shares of the company’s stock after selling 626 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 235,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,096,000 after purchasing an additional 29,372 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 94.0% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 81,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,808,000 after acquiring an additional 39,643 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 34,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,583,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,168,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $932,698,000 after purchasing an additional 99,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $37.76 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.07 and a 52 week high of $43.74. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.83. The stock has a market cap of $10.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.80. 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 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. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.72% and a net margin of 29.52%. The business had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3071 per share. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.