Phoenix Financial Ltd. Sells 568 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Phoenix Financial Ltd. cut its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 6.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,858 shares of the company’s stock after selling 568 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $292,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 24.7% in the first quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 27.6% during the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 32,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 16,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 115,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,584,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Zacks Research downgraded Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.17.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $41.65 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $42.37. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.69.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

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.