Jump Financial LLC Buys New Shares in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities Inc. during the 1st quarter, purchasing 7,612 shares for approximately $301,000.
• Essential Utilities reported Q2 earnings of $0.38 per share, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.29, and had an 18.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.3426 per share, reflecting a 3.5% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 58.80%.

Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at $1,507,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.0% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 25,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $998,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,775 shares of the company's stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $638,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 107,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,239,000 after buying an additional 4,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 2.0%

WTRG stock traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $38.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 674,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,737,173. The stock has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $38.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The firm'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, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders 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 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 payout ratio 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.