Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Cuts Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lessened its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,205 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,128 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,931,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,127,000 after buying an additional 162,556 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 229,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,576,000 after purchasing an additional 9,507 shares during the last quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 10,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $912,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.69 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.97. The company has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 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 1.13. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.07 and a 52 week high of $43.74.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.3071 dividend. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. 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 is 58.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WTRG. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was 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 approximately $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.