Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Purchased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 24.6%, bringing their total to 74,670 shares valued at approximately $2.746 million.
• Essential Utilities declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3426, reflecting a 3.6% annualized yield, and an increase from the previous dividend of $0.33.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on WTRG, with a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $44.40, as several firms raised their estimates recently.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,670 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,724 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.59 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $38.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. 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 last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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