Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Bought by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 1.5%, acquiring an additional 25,167 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1,685,205 shares valued at $66.6 million.
• Essential Utilities reported a quarterly EPS of $0.38, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.29, along with a revenue of $514.91 million, reflecting an 18.5% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.3426 per share, yielding approximately 3.6%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 12th.

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,685,205 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,167 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned 0.61% of Essential Utilities worth $66,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,355,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 74.6% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,593,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,860,000 after purchasing an additional 680,760 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,331,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,985,000 after purchasing an additional 601,026 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,436,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 16.5% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 2,476,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,908,000 after purchasing an additional 349,904 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.67.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG traded up $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.81. The stock had a trading volume of 2,461,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,859,846. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.73. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.02. The stock has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.78. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%. The business's revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.79%.

About Essential Utilities

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.