Allianz Asset Management GmbH Buys 18,296 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 1.1%, acquiring an additional 18,296 shares, bringing its total ownership to 1,647,146 shares valued at approximately $61.18 million.
• Several analysts raised their price targets for Essential Utilities, with UBS Group increasing it from $42.00 to $47.00, indicating a positive sentiment among investment professionals.
• Essential Utilities recently announced a dividend increase to $0.3426 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.37 and a yield of 3.3%.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,647,146 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,296 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned 0.59% of Essential Utilities worth $61,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 101.8% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,360 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.17.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $41.30 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.70. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $39.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $462.70 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue 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, 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 dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is currently 58.80%.

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.

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