ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 103,134 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 830,786 shares of the company’s stock after selling 103,134 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $30,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WTRG. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $638,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 107,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,239,000 after buying an additional 4,015 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Essential Utilities by 28.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 498,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,713,000 after acquiring an additional 109,582 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Essential Utilities by 1.3% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 543,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,201,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at $879,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.6%

Essential Utilities stock opened at $39.49 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $476.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $472.40 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price (down from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.