Jacobi Capital Management LLC Has $2.89 Million Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 7.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 73,024 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,257 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the first quarter worth $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $37.96 on Thursday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $41.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.3426 dividend. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 31st. 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 report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

About Essential Utilities

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.