Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Holdings Boosted by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 23rd, 2023

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG – Get Rating) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,205 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 27,626,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,143,183,000 after acquiring an additional 535,454 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,324,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,089,311,000 after acquiring an additional 633,910 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,295,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,169,000 after acquiring an additional 149,565 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA now owns 5,816,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,687,000 after acquiring an additional 27,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 4,863,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,720,000 after acquiring an additional 692,260 shares in the last quarter. 69.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Chris Franklin acquired 37,245 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $40.70 per share, for a total transaction of $1,515,871.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 37,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,515,871.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG opened at $40.96 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.50 and a 12-month high of $52.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.11 and a 200-day moving average of $45.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 20.33%. The firm had revenue of $705.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s revenue was up 31.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.287 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 11th. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 64.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Essential Utilities from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. StockNews.com began coverage on Essential Utilities in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $54.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Thursday, March 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.38.

Essential Utilities Profile

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Essential Utilities, Inc is a holding company, which engages in providing water, wastewater and natural gas services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. The Regulated Water segment includes water and wastewater regulated utility companies.