Intrua Financial LLC Acquires New Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Intrua Financial LLC has acquired a new position in Essential Utilities Inc., purchasing 10,654 shares valued at approximately $421,000 during the first quarter.
• Analysts have recently set new price targets for Essential Utilities, with UBS Group raising their target from $42.00 to $47.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Essential Utilities announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.3426 per share, compared to the previous $0.33, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.6%.

Intrua Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Addison Capital Co increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 3.2% in the first quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 33,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 7.8% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 73,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,887,000 after buying an additional 5,257 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 4.9% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,322 shares of the company's stock valued at $882,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust co acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 3.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,438,783 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,405,000 after buying an additional 92,112 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. UBS Group raised 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 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 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.65. The firm's fifty day moving average is $38.22 and its 200-day moving average is $38.62.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business had revenue of $514.91 million for 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%. Essential Utilities's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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 issued a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.80%.

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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