Greenleaf Trust Sells 387 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Greenleaf Trust cut its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,347 shares of the company’s stock after selling 387 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bfsg LLC lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 22.1% during the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 23,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 32,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.39 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.65. The company has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.82. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $38.46 and its 200 day moving average is $38.53.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly 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. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. Essential Utilities’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS 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 issued a $0.3426 dividend. This is a boost 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 yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

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.