Amundi Sells 1,796,142 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Amundi cut its Essential Utilities stake by 28.3% in the first quarter, selling 1.8 million shares and retaining approximately 4.54 million shares worth $182.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.78% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive: Essential Utilities has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $43.80, compared with a recent share price of $40.42.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.3606 per share, equivalent to a 3.6% annualized yield. Its latest earnings missed estimates, with EPS of $0.83 versus the $0.90 consensus, despite 10% year-over-year revenue growth.

Amundi lessened its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 28.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,539,553 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,796,142 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 1.60% of Essential Utilities worth $182,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,547,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $958,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $638,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,430,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 232,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,936,000 after acquiring an additional 131,712 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.80.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.7%

WTRG stock opened at $40.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.10 and a twelve month high of $42.37. The company's 50 day moving average is $38.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.88.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $861.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.90 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.82% and a return on equity of 8.34%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. Research analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a $0.3606 dividend. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is currently 69.54%.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.

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