Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Stock Position Raised by Stanley Laman Group Ltd.

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 19.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,144 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth about $1,507,000. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 107,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,239,000 after acquiring an additional 4,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 498,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,713,000 after purchasing an additional 109,582 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $41.30 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $11.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $514.91 million during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. 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 fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Barclays increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.17.

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.