Invesco Ltd. Lowers Position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. sold 170,568 shares of Essential Utilities Inc., reducing its stake by 4.6%, which now stands at 3,519,548 shares valued at approximately $139.1 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Northern Trust Corp and Boston Trust Walden Corp, have increased their holdings in Essential Utilities, reflecting strong interest in the stock.
• Essential Utilities recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.3426 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.37 and a yield of 3.5%.

Invesco Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,519,548 shares of the company's stock after selling 170,568 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.28% of Essential Utilities worth $139,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,383,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 98.9% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 55.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 14,924 shares of the company's stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 5,324 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 11,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of WTRG stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,472,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,973,196. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $37.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%. The firm had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $462.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 3.5%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.