Walleye Capital LLC Buys Shares of 6,517 Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Walleye Capital LLC has acquired 6,517 shares of Essential Utilities Inc., valued at approximately $258,000, in its recent filing with the SEC.
• Essential Utilities reported strong earnings with $0.38 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing an 18.5% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3426, reflecting a positive change from its previous dividend, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.5%.

Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bfsg LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 22.1% in the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 24.7% during the first quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.3% during the first quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 23,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% during the first quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 16,322 shares of the company's stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.98 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $38.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.55. The firm has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.83. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $514.91 million for 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%.Essential Utilities's revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.3426 dividend. This is a positive change 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 3.5%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is 58.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.50.

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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