Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 6,817 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Corebridge Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. by 2.4% during the first quarter, leaving it with approximately 279,048 shares valued at $11.03 million.
• Institutional investors own 74.78% of Essential Utilities, with several, including Northern Trust Corp and Boston Trust Walden Corp, increasing their stakes significantly in recent months.
• Essential Utilities recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3426 per share, which reflects an increase from its previous dividend and a yield of 3.5% for shareholders.

Corebridge Financial Inc. lessened its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 279,048 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,817 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Essential Utilities worth $11,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Bfsg LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 22.1% during the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its position in Essential Utilities by 24.7% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. raised its position in Essential Utilities by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 23,928 shares of the company's stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.3%

WTRG stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $39.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,721,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,087,314. The company has a market cap of $11.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50 day moving average price is $38.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. 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 posted 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business'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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.80%.

About Essential Utilities

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.