TFG Advisers LLC Sells 589 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

TFG Advisers LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 28,182 shares of the company’s stock after selling 589 shares during the period. TFG Advisers LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at about $94,251,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,526,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 122.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,308,000 after acquiring an additional 519,933 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 16.5% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 2,476,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,908,000 after purchasing an additional 349,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1,924.2% in the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 285,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,278,000 after purchasing an additional 271,214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.40.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.81 on Thursday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $38.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.80%.

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.