Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 59.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 153,550 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,087 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.05% of Essential Utilities worth $5,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth $94,251,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth about $25,526,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 122.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,308,000 after acquiring an additional 519,933 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 2,476,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,908,000 after acquiring an additional 349,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1,924.2% during the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 285,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,278,000 after acquiring an additional 271,214 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $37.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.56.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research cut Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.40.

About Essential Utilities

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.