Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Position Increased by Stanley Laman Group Ltd.

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRGFree Report) by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,144 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares during the quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its position 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 worth $4,584,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Zacks Research lowered Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.17.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

WTRG opened at $41.30 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $11.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.70.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRGGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. Research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders 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 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.80%.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG)

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