Summit Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 21,928 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Summit Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 24.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,039 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,928 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth $480,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 8.9% during the second quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 2,360,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,674,000 after purchasing an additional 193,834 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at $552,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Northcoast Research set a $46.00 price target on Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.57.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.64 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $42.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a P/E 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 earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.06. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $476.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $472.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

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

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.