Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Holdings Decreased by John G Ullman & Associates Inc.

Posted by Stanley Muller on May 17th, 2026

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG – Free Report) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 405,450 shares of the company’s stock after selling 59,475 shares during the period. Essential Utilities comprises 2.1% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $15,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,547,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 39.8% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 99,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,968,000 after buying an additional 28,329 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.4% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 966,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,571,000 after buying an additional 135,899 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 21.1% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 257,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,278,000 after purchasing an additional 44,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,709,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,091,000 after purchasing an additional 29,904 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group set a $41.00 target price on Essential Utilities in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Argus raised Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.40.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on WTRG

Essential Utilities Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE WTRG opened at $37.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.32 and a 52 week high of $42.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $39.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.16. The company has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79 and a beta of 0.67.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.07). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.34% and a net margin of 21.82%.The business had revenue of $861.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.54%.

About Essential Utilities

(Free Report)

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.