Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 9.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,943 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,988 shares during the quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 16,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 14.3% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE WTRG opened at $39.64 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.06. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $476.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $472.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price target (down previously from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Baird R W downgraded Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.57.

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.