Truist Financial Corp has announced that it has reduced its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. by 26.4% in the first quarter. The financial corporation sold 6,682 shares of the company’s stock, leaving it with 18,607 shares. The value of Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Essential Utilities was worth $812,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in Essential Utilities. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. increased its stake by 1.8% and now owns 40,444 shares of the company’s stock. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC and Nordea Investment Management AB both increased their stakes by 8.1% and 57.8%, respectively. Deutsche Bank AG also boosted its stake by 16.1%, and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake by 7.8% in the fourth quarter.
Shares of Essential Utilities opened at $36.99 on Wednesday and have a market capitalization of $9.78 billion. The stock has a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02 and a beta of 0.77. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $36.36 and a 12-month high of $51.29.
Essential Utilities recently announced its quarterly earnings results, reporting $0.34 EPS for the quarter, which met analysts’ consensus estimates. However, the company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same period last year.
The company has also increased its quarterly dividend from $0.29 to $0.3071 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 10th, and the dividend will be paid on Friday, September 1st.
While the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” among analysts, some have rated the stock as a sell or a buy. MarketBeat.com reports that the average target price is $51.40.
In other news, President Colleen Arnold sold 1,244 shares of Essential Utilities stock, valued at approximately $52,048.96. This accounts for 0.18% of the company’s stock.
Essential Utilities, Inc. operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, and natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through two segments: Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas. Essential Utilities offers water services through operating and maintenance contracts with municipal authorities and other parties.
Sources:
– [SEC](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/4904/000119312521159248/d14147d6k.htm)
– [MarketBeat](https://www.marketbeat.com/stocks/NYSE/WTRG/institutional-ownership/)
– [MarketBeat](https://www.marketbeat.com/stocks/NYSE/WTRG/ratings/)
– [MarketBeat](https://www.marketbeat.com/stocks/NYSE/WTRG/insider-trades/)
Source: claytoncountyregister.com
