Nomura Holdings Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 73.5%, leaving it with 12,017 shares valued at approximately $475,000.
• Essential Utilities recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.3426, resulting in a 3.5% dividend yield for shareholders.
• The company's stock has seen a 12-month price range between $33.18 and $41.65, with current trading around $38.98.

Nomura Holdings Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 73.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,017 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,266 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of WTRG stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,011,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,814,035. 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 $10.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.83. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $38.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.62. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $41.65.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $462.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. On average, research analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis 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 payout ratio is 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.