Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 14.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,792 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the first quarter worth $3,383,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 28.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 498,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,713,000 after buying an additional 109,582 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at $215,000. Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 720,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,497,000 after buying an additional 25,021 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 656.4% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 2,842 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $37.96 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.83. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.65.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $462.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a $0.3426 dividend. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.80%.

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.