Quantbot Technologies LP Takes $337,000 Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 8,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bfsg LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 22.1% in the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 24.7% in the first quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.3% in the first quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 23,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 2.0% in the first quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 16,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.4% in the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $39.10 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $37.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.38. The firm has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.78. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.65. 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 (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. Analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 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.