Covea Finance Boosts Stock Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Covea Finance increased its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 90.7% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 31,300 shares, bringing its total holdings to 65,800 shares valued at approximately $2.44 million.
• Essential Utilities reported $0.38 EPS for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.29, and achieved a revenue of $514.91 million, which was significantly higher than the forecasted $462.70 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3426 per share, marking a slight increase from the previous dividend and reflecting a 3.7% yield for investors.

Covea Finance lifted its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 90.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,800 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,300 shares during the quarter. Covea Finance's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. National Pension Service raised its position in Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $37.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The business's fifty day moving average price is $38.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.83. 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 posted 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 return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.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 firm 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is presently 58.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Zacks Research lowered Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.40.

Essential Utilities Company 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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