IFM Investors Pty Ltd Has $2.94 Million Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd reduced its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 17.3%, selling 15,549 shares, and now owns 74,285 shares valued at approximately $2.94 million.
• Equities analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with Robert W. Baird and UBS Group setting price targets of $47.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Essential Utilities recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3426 per share, reflecting an annualized amount of $1.37 and a dividend yield of 3.6%.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 17.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,285 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,549 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE WTRG traded down $0.02 on Thursday, reaching $37.29. The company had a trading volume of 578,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,741,122. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.73. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.65. The company's fifty day moving average is $38.27 and its 200-day moving average is $38.62.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.3426 per share. 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%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WTRG. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of 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 upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 31st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.50.

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.