Energy Income Partners LLC Takes Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Energy Income Partners initiated a position in Essential Utilities, purchasing 65,916 shares valued at approximately $2.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.78% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $43.00 average price target; UBS raised its target to $46, while Barclays maintained an “underweight” rating.
• Essential Utilities exceeded quarterly EPS estimates by reporting $0.38 versus expectations of $0.37, while revenue increased 3.1% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.3606, implying a 3.6% yield.

Energy Income Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 65,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,525,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.5%

WTRG stock opened at $40.40 on Wednesday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.10 and a fifty-two week high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.64. The business's fifty day moving average price is $38.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.93.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a $0.3606 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.47%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In other news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,073.85. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is 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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