Vise Technologies Inc. Takes $1.09 Million Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Vise Technologies purchased 28,456 shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter, establishing a position valued at approximately $1.09 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.78% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $43.00, although individual recommendations range from “Strong Buy” to “Sell.”
• Essential Utilities exceeded quarterly EPS expectations by reporting $0.38 versus the $0.37 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 3.1% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3606 per share, representing a 3.6% annualized yield.

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 28,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,090,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WTRG. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.6%

WTRG stock opened at $40.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.64. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.10 and a twelve month high of $42.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.97.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The firm had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is currently 73.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at $686,073.85. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.

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