Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Stock Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 8.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 260,270 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,735 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $10,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.3% in the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 73,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,876,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 29.9% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 6,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.0% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 10,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $44.93 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.42 and a 200-day moving average of $39.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $12.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.62. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.10 and a 52-week high of $46.36.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The business 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%. Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Argus upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Essential Utilities from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.75.

About Essential Utilities

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.