National Pension Service Boosts Stake in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 340.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,183 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,233 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. SouthState Corp boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 834.7% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 101.8% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $39.68 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.69. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.84.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $476.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $472.40 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Northcoast Research set a $46.00 target price on Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, October 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.57.

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.