IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 15,549 Shares of 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 lessened its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 17.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. National Pension Service lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $38.30 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $38.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.63. The company has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.83. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.65. 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 (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. As a group, 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 paid a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities's 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.

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