Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 66,295 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp sold 66,295 shares of Essential Utilities, trimming its stake by 2.5% to 2,558,690 shares (about a 0.90% stake) valued at roughly $98.15 million at quarter-end.
• Essential Utilities reported a quarterly EPS of $0.47 versus $0.36 expected and revenue of $699.11 million (up 15.7% year-over-year), outperforming analyst estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3426 (annualized $1.37) for a ~3.5% yield, while analysts hold a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $43.20.

Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,558,690 shares of the company's stock after selling 66,295 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 0.90% of Essential Utilities worth $98,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 8,346 shares of the company's stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 104,188 shares of the company's stock worth $4,157,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 13,036 shares of the company's stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 17,275 shares of the company's stock worth $689,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 43.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,114 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.22 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.43. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.32 and a 12 month high of $42.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $699.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $611.60 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, December 29th. Argus raised shares of Essential Utilities to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.20.

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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