Allianz SE Takes Position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Key Points

• Allianz SE has acquired a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. by purchasing 11,136 shares valued at approximately $440,000 during Q1, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Essential Utilities reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.38, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.09, and the company's revenue increased by 18.5% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3426, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend and resulting in an annualized yield of 3.6%.

Allianz SE purchased a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 11,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in Essential Utilities by 87.8% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 20,037 shares of the company's stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 9,369 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.5% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at $205,000. Commerce Bank raised its position in Essential Utilities by 17.7% during the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 9,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 28,624 shares of the company's stock worth $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 3,461 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $38.22 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.73. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%. The firm's revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is presently 58.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.50.

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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