Barclays PLC Increases Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Barclays PLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities (WTRG) by 90% in Q3 to 645,515 shares (~$25.76M), now owning about 0.23% of the company.
• Essential Utilities beat quarterly expectations with $0.47 EPS vs. $0.36 estimated and reported $699.11M in revenue (up 15.7% YoY), with analysts projecting roughly 1.99 EPS for the year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3426 per share (annualized $1.37) for a 3.4% yield, payable June 1 with record/ex-dividend date on May 12.

Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 90.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 645,515 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 305,851 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.23% of Essential Utilities worth $25,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1,163.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 733 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Essential Utilities by 43.6% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 141.2% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth $50,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.32 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The business's fifty day moving average price is $39.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.06.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.91% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The company had revenue of $699.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. Essential Utilities's revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is presently 61.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on WTRG shares. Northcoast Research raised Essential Utilities from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.20.

Essential Utilities Profile

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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