Inspire Investing LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 80.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,647 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,516 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 157,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,763,000 after purchasing an additional 6,674 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Essential Utilities by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 24,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Essential Utilities by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 15,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in Essential Utilities by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 245,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,130,000 after purchasing an additional 19,794 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Essential Utilities by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 72,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WTRG shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.17.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:WTRG opened at $40.69 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $38.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.60. The company has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.82. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.65.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.80%.

Essential Utilities Company 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.