Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 19,003 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 1.6% in the first quarter, holding approximately 1,177,943 shares valued at $46.5 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Several large investors, including Northern Trust Corp and Boston Trust Walden Corp, increased their stakes in Essential Utilities, indicating continued interest in the company.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed opinions, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target ranging from $44.50 to $47.00, reflecting varying confidence in the stock's future performance.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lowered its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,177,943 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,003 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.43% of Essential Utilities worth $46,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bfsg LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 24.7% in the first quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.3% in the first quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 23,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 16,322 shares of the company's stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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 target 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:WTRG traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $39.55. 2,721,209 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,087,314. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.65. The company has a market cap of $11.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $37.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.49.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is presently 58.80%.

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.