Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Sold by APG Asset Management N.V.

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. reduced its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 11.9%, owning approximately 193,703 shares valued at $7.09 million as reported in the recent SEC filing.
• Essential Utilities reported a quarterly earnings of $0.38 per share, exceeding estimates, alongside an 18.5% increase in revenue year-over-year to $514.91 million.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.3426, representing a 3.5% yield, with a payout ratio of 58.80%.

APG Asset Management N.V. cut its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 193,703 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,207 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned 0.07% of Essential Utilities worth $7,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $1,507,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 25,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $998,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $638,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 107,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,239,000 after acquiring an additional 4,015 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.3%

Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $39.55. 2,721,209 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,087,314. The company's 50-day moving average is $37.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.73. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.65. The firm has a market cap of $11.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.83.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $462.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The firm's 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. On average, analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.50.

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.