696,819 Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 27.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,827,223 shares of the company's stock after selling 696,819 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.64% of Essential Utilities worth $71,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,095,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 465,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,841,000 after purchasing an additional 54,865 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 17.1% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 810,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,032,000 after purchasing an additional 118,543 shares during the period. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 114.4% in the second quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 137,908 shares of the company's stock worth $5,283,000 after purchasing an additional 73,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,473,632 shares of the company's stock worth $59,343,000 after purchasing an additional 132,566 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:WTRG opened at $45.10 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.10 and a 12-month high of $46.36. The firm has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.59.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $508.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $450.44 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.79% and a return on equity of 8.36%. The firm's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a $0.3606 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 72.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WTRG. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Essential Utilities from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.00.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides water and wastewater services through its Aqua operations and natural gas distribution through Peoples Natural Gas. Its services include treating and delivering drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and supplying natural gas to homes and businesses.

The company traces its water utility roots to the Springfield Water Company, founded in Pennsylvania in 1886. It adopted the Essential Utilities name in 2020, following its acquisition of Peoples Natural Gas and the expansion of its business beyond water and wastewater services.

Essential Utilities serves customers in several states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia.

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