Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 217,946 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Nordea Investment Management AB lowered its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,150,259 shares of the company’s stock after selling 217,946 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 2.55% of Essential Utilities worth $263,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 101.8% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.17.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $41.35 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.64. The company has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.82. 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 $41.65.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. Analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.80%.

Essential Utilities 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.