Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. has increased its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 1.5% in the first quarter, owning approximately 2.1 million shares valued at $83.16 million.
• Essential Utilities recently reported earnings of $0.38 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, and experienced an 18.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3426 per share, reflecting an increase from its previous dividend, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.5%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,103,777 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 31,909 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.76% of Essential Utilities worth $83,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,507,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 8.0% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 25,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 14.2% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 3.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 107,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,239,000 after purchasing an additional 4,015 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WTRG. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

WTRG traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.15. 1,472,089 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,973,196. The company's 50-day moving average is $37.65 and its 200 day moving average is $38.20. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $462.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

Essential Utilities 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.