First National Corp MA ADV Decreases Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• First National Corp MA ADV reduced its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 22.2%, selling 13,580 shares and retaining 47,548 shares valued at approximately $1.77 million.
• Essential Utilities reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.38 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.09, with a total revenue of $514.91 million.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3426 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.6% and a payout ratio of 58.80%.

First National Corp MA ADV trimmed its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 22.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,548 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,580 shares during the period. First National Corp MA ADV's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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 lowered Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.40.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.08. 6,770,585 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,893,165. The stock has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $38.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.59. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. Equities 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is 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.