NFJ Investment Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 176,496 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,555 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Essential Utilities worth $6,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at $1,507,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.0% during the 1st 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. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $638,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 4,015 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.8%
Shares of Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,011,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,741,656. The company has a market cap of $10.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's fifty day moving average is $38.18 and its 200-day moving average is $38.62. 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.
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, beating 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 business 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 earned $0.28 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.
Essential Utilities Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.3426 dividend. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is currently 58.80%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
WTRG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.50.
View Our Latest Stock Report on WTRG
About Essential Utilities
(
Free Report)
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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