Aberdeen Group plc Boosts Stock Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 4.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 157,084 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,674 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $5,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 24.7% in the first quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 27.6% in the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.0% in the first quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 32,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% in the first quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 16,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 115,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,584,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $41.35 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $38.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.64. The firm has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. Analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 58.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities 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 Saturday, October 11th. Barclays upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.17.

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.