Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC Invests $2.57 Million in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC invested approximately $2.57 million in Essential Utilities Inc. during the first quarter, acquiring nearly 65,000 shares of the company's stock.
• Essential Utilities has reported a quarterly earnings improvement, with $0.38 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.29, and achieving an 18.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has also announced a dividend increase, now at $0.3426 per share, which reflects positive growth and an annualized yield of 3.5% for its investors.

Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 64,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,568,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WTRG. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at about $1,507,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.0% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 25,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $998,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 14.2% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $638,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 107,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,239,000 after buying an additional 4,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WTRG shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.5940 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $37.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.34. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.65. 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 (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.The business had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $462.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is 58.80%.

Essential Utilities Profile

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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