Inspire Investing LLC Purchases 6,516 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC has increased its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 80.1%, acquiring an additional 6,516 shares, bringing its total holdings to 14,647 shares valued at approximately $544,000.
• The company has recently announced a quarterly dividend increase, paying $0.3426 per share, which reflects a positive change from the previous dividend of $0.33.
• Essential Utilities reported quarterly earnings of $0.38 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, with a revenue increase of 18.5% year-over-year to $514.91 million.

Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 80.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,647 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,516 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,507,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 14.2% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 3.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 107,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,239,000 after purchasing an additional 4,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 28.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 498,669 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,713,000 after purchasing an additional 109,582 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of WTRG opened at $40.69 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.82. 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 fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.60.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analyst estimates of $462.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. 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 3.4%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is presently 58.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WTRG shares. UBS Group lifted their target price 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 lifted their target price 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.17.

Essential Utilities Company 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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