Toth Financial Advisory Corp Has $4.10 Million Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in Essential Utilities Inc. by 18.9% during Q2, holding 110,295 shares worth approximately $4.10 million.
• Essential Utilities recently reported earnings exceeding analysts' expectations, with a quarterly revenue of $514.91 million and an EPS of $0.38, up from $0.28 the previous year.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.3426 per share, representing a yield of 3.7% and a payout ratio of 58.80%.

Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 110,295 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,560 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WTRG. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE WTRG opened at $37.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 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. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.59. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This is an increase from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research cut Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.40.

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.

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