UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Has $96.41 Million Holdings 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,438,783 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 92,112 shares during the period. 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 SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. National Pension Service boosted its position in 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, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 31st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:WTRG traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $37.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,617,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,884,449. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.65. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.61.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. 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.