Hennessy Advisors Inc. Decreases Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Hennessy Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 27.2%, owning 122,200 shares worth approximately $4.54 million after selling 45,600 shares in the second quarter.
• Recent earnings results showed Essential Utilities beat expectations with $0.38 EPS against a consensus of $0.29, and reported revenue of $514.91 million, up 18.5% year-over-year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3426 per share, representing a 3.5% yield, reflecting a boost from the previous dividend of $0.33 per share.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 27.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,200 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,600 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth about $638,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2,579.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 132,505 shares of the company's stock worth $5,238,000 after buying an additional 127,559 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth approximately $366,000. First National Corp MA ADV raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 111.6% in the first quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 61,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 32,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 465.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,612 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WTRG shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Barclays assumed coverage on Essential Utilities in a report on Thursday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research cut Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $39.39 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.53. The company has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost 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%.

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.

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