Atria Investments Inc Makes New $719,000 Investment in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 19,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $719,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 359,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,345,000 after buying an additional 7,729 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.8% in the second quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 15,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1,042.7% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732 shares during the period. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 200.1% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 24,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 39,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.57.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $42.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.84.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.06. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company had revenue of $476.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $472.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 56.85%.

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.