Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires 8,041 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. by 10.4%, acquiring an additional 8,041 shares, bringing its total holdings to 85,573 shares valued at approximately $3.18 million.
• Essential Utilities recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.3426 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend of $0.33 and representing a 3.5% dividend yield.
• On the performance front, Essential Utilities exceeded analyst expectations, reporting earnings of $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating estimates by $0.09, with a revenue of $514.91 million, up 18.5% year-over-year.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,573 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,041 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 101.8% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,360 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.40.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $38.81 on Thursday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.65. The company has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.82. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $38.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The company'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. On average, research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

About Essential Utilities

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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