Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA Lowers Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA cut its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,167 shares of the company’s stock after selling 731 shares during the period. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WTRG shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.17.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $40.69 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $38.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 58.80%.

About Essential Utilities

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.