Boston Trust Walden Corp Buys 68,072 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp has increased its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 2.7%, now holding approximately 0.91% of the company's shares worth $94.5 million after acquiring 68,072 additional shares in the second quarter.
• Essential Utilities is trading down 2.4%, with a current stock price of $39.75, and has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.3426 per share, up from $0.33, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.4%.

Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,544,883 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 68,072 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 0.91% of Essential Utilities worth $94,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. National Pension Service grew its position in Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of WTRG opened at $39.75 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $38.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.61. The company has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.82. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $462.70 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business's quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WTRG. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.17.

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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