Private Trust Co. NA Sells 2,552 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Private Trust Co. NA trimmed its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRGFree Report) by 51.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,416 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,552 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $90,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.1% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,647,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,175,000 after buying an additional 18,296 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 275,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,247,000 after acquiring an additional 24,315 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 37,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.4% in the 2nd quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 900,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,422,000 after acquiring an additional 139,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 2,544,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,517,000 after acquiring an additional 68,072 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.1%

WTRG stock opened at $41.65 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.73. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $42.37. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.69.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRGGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a $0.3426 dividend. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WTRG. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.17.

Get Our Latest Analysis on WTRG

Essential Utilities Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG)

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