Aurora Investment Counsel Acquires 1,178 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,592 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the quarter. Essential Utilities accounts for about 1.4% of Aurora Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter worth about $94,251,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter worth about $25,526,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 122.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,308,000 after acquiring an additional 519,933 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 271,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wills Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter worth about $6,139,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG opened at $41.98 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.10 and its 200 day simple 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. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $42.04. The firm has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 analyst estimates of $462.70 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.17.

Essential Utilities Company 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.