Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Holdings Trimmed by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 41.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,247 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,957 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 720,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,229,000 after acquiring an additional 13,221 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 68.4% in the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 47,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 19,466 shares during the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board raised its position in Essential Utilities by 4.0% during the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 8,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WTRG. Weiss Ratings upgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Essential Utilities from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $45.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.56. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $36.10 and a one year high of $46.36.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $508.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $450.44 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.79% and a return on equity of 8.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be paid a $0.3606 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.36%.

Essential Utilities Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides water and wastewater services through its Aqua operations and natural gas distribution through Peoples Natural Gas. Its services include treating and delivering drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and supplying natural gas to homes and businesses.

The company traces its water utility roots to the Springfield Water Company, founded in Pennsylvania in 1886. It adopted the Essential Utilities name in 2020, following its acquisition of Peoples Natural Gas and the expansion of its business beyond water and wastewater services.

Essential Utilities serves customers in several states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia.