Corient Private Wealth LP Buys New Shares in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth LP acquired 31,917 shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.22 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.78% of WTRG.
• Essential Utilities reported quarterly EPS of $0.38, slightly above analyst expectations, while revenue rose 3.1% year over year to $530.85 million but fell short of estimates.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3606 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.44 dividend and a 3.5% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $43.

Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 31,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,223,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 83,188 shares of the company's stock worth $3,191,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 29.9% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 8,604 shares of the company's stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.3% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 6,251 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,881 shares of the company's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $41.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.20. The stock has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.10 and a 1 year high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.The company had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.3606 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on WTRG shares. Barclays raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total transaction of $112,915.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $686,073.85. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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