Comerica Bank Has $3.10 Million Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Comerica Bank has reduced its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (WTRG) by selling 9,309 shares, representing a 10.6% decrease, leaving it with 78,421 shares valued at approximately $3.1 million.
• Essential Utilities recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3426 per share, which indicates a 3.5% yield and is an increase from the previous dividend of $0.33.
• The company's latest earnings report beat expectations with an EPS of $0.38 against estimates of $0.29, alongside a revenue increase of 18.5% year-over-year, totaling $514.91 million.

Comerica Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 10.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,421 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,309 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $258,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,568,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 6.1% in the first quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 2,166,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,653,000 after acquiring an additional 123,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 11.5% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 30,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 3,142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WTRG. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.8%

WTRG stock traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.81. The stock had a trading volume of 2,154,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,954,450. The firm has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.52.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. Essential Utilities's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This is an increase from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.