Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.2%, selling 51,329 shares and leaving 4,107,047 shares (about 1.45% ownership) valued at ~$163.9 million; overall institutional investors own 74.78% of the company.
• Essential Utilities beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.47 versus $0.36 expected and revenue of $699.11 million versus $611.6 million, with revenue up 15.7% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3426 (annualized $1.37), a yield of 3.4% and a payout ratio of ~62%; analysts hold a consensus “Hold” rating with a $43.20 target price.

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,107,047 shares of the company's stock after selling 51,329 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.45% of Essential Utilities worth $163,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SouthState Corp grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 834.7% in the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 701 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1,163.8% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 733 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 43.6% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 141.2% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on WTRG shares. Barclays set a $38.00 target price on Essential Utilities and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Northcoast Research upgraded Essential Utilities from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $43.20.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $40.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.05. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.32 and a 12 month high of $42.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $699.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.60 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.91% and a return on equity of 9.18%. Essential Utilities's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is presently 61.99%.

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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