UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Increases Stock Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• UBS AM increased its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 3.9%, bringing its total ownership to 2,438,783 shares worth $96.4 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Headlands Technologies LLC and National Pension Service, have recently bought stakes in Essential Utilities, resulting in institutional ownership of 74.78% of the company.
• Essential Utilities raised its quarterly dividend from $0.33 to $0.3426 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.6%.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,438,783 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 92,112 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 0.87% of Essential Utilities worth $96,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WTRG. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note 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 upped their target price 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 downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $38.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.63. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.83. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $41.65.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.80%.

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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