Trexquant Investment LP Takes Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has acquired a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. with 40,631 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million during the first quarter.
• Several analysts have increased their price targets for Essential Utilities, with UBS Group enhancing it from $42.00 to $47.00 and giving a "buy" rating.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, now set at $0.3426 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 3.5%.

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 40,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,606,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at $33,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at $35,000. National Pension Service grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $39.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.83. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.Essential Utilities's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. Analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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