Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Has $1.18 Million Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Posted by on Oct 14th, 2023

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG – Free Report) by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,520 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,080 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 2.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,129,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,141,000 after acquiring an additional 576,448 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,683,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,262,044,000 after acquiring an additional 229,596 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,295,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,169,000 after acquiring an additional 149,565 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 98,060.5% in the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 10,503,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,181,000 after acquiring an additional 10,492,469 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,493,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.01% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $33.49 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.79. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $49.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 20.25%. The business had revenue of $436.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.07 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th were given a $0.3071 dividend. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WTRG shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. Northcoast Research upgraded Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 28th. StockNews.com began coverage on Essential Utilities in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, TheStreet lowered Essential Utilities from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, September 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.40.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WTRG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG – Free Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG)

Receive News & Ratings for Essential Utilities Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Essential Utilities and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.