APG Asset Management N.V. Has $7.09 Million Stake in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

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. trimmed its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 11.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,703 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,207 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned about 0.07% of Essential Utilities worth $7,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WTRG. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $638,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,601,633 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,170,000 after acquiring an additional 27,641 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 109.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 14,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 7,682 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 132.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 173,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,290,000 after acquiring an additional 15,131 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $39.1260 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.78. The company's 50-day moving average is $37.79 and its 200-day moving average is $38.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.65.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.3426 dividend. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WTRG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.