Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Acquires 18,227 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $714,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth about $1,280,829,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 5.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,119,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,595,000 after buying an additional 687,688 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at approximately $134,247,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1,224.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,233,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,728,000 after buying an additional 2,989,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,881,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,049,000 after buying an additional 106,252 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:WTRG opened at $45.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.18 and a 200-day moving average of $39.56. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.10 and a 52 week high of $46.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.36% and a net margin of 21.79%. The business had revenue of $508.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $450.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a $0.3606 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on WTRG shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Essential Utilities from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Essential Utilities from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides water and wastewater services through its Aqua operations and natural gas distribution through Peoples Natural Gas. Its services include treating and delivering drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and supplying natural gas to homes and businesses.

The company traces its water utility roots to the Springfield Water Company, founded in Pennsylvania in 1886. It adopted the Essential Utilities name in 2020, following its acquisition of Peoples Natural Gas and the expansion of its business beyond water and wastewater services.

Essential Utilities serves customers in several states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia.