Metis Global Partners LLC Takes $480,000 Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Metis Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 12,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. SouthState Corp lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 834.7% in the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 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 purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 101.8% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.07 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.84. 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 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $42.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.70.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm had revenue of $476.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $472.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 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 Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Baird R W downgraded Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.