State of Alaska Department of Revenue Cuts Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,916 shares of the company’s stock after selling 695 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at about $94,251,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,526,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 122.7% during the first 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 during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 16.5% during the first 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 during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 1,924.2% in the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 285,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,278,000 after purchasing an additional 271,214 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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. Barclays began coverage on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.82. 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 simple moving average of $38.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.52.

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, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The company’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. Research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 58.80%.

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.