Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $1.11 Million Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC cut its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 7.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 29,905 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,421 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the first quarter worth $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the first quarter worth $33,000. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 101.8% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.1%

WTRG stock opened at $41.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $462.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.17.

About Essential Utilities

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.