<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of  Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor  acquired 2,755,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,347,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.98% of Essential Utilities as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Essential Utilities</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>Overlooked Analyst-Approved Dividend Plays You Can Count On</li></ul><p>A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WTRG. SouthState Corp boosted its position in  Essential Utilities by 834.7% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 701 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period.  Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of  Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000.  Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of  Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth $31,000.  National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of  Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period.  Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in  Essential Utilities by 101.8% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. </p><h2>Wall Street Analyst Weigh In</h2><p>A number of research firms have weighed in on WTRG. Northcoast Research raised shares of Essential Utilities from a &#34;neutral&#34; rating to a &#34;buy&#34; rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a &#34;sell&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings  reaffirmed a &#34;hold (c+)&#34; rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday. UBS Group  reaffirmed a &#34;neutral&#34; rating and issued a $45.00 price target (down from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Essential Utilities from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. One investment analyst  has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned  a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock  has a consensus rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and an average price target of $44.00.</p><ul><li>Top 3 Stocks to Outperform the S&amp;P 500 in a Downturn</li></ul><p><b>View Our Latest Stock Report on Essential Utilities</b></p><h2>Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.0%</h2><p>WTRG stock opened at $38.87 on Thursday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $42.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 0.81. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $39.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.64. </p><p>Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 28.09%.The company had revenue of $476.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $472.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis.  On average, research analysts anticipate that  Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year. </p><h2>Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement</h2><p>The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.85%. </p><h2>Essential Utilities Company Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Featured Articles</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Essential Utilities</li><li>Stock Market Holidays 2022-2025 - Here’s When the NYSE and NASDAQ Will be Closed</li><li>3 Stocks Poised to Benefit From Google’s AI Breakthough</li><li>What is a Bond Market Holiday? How to Invest and Trade</li><li>Beyond NVIDIA: 5 Semiconductor Stocks Set to Dominate 2026</li><li>3 Monster Growth Stocks to Buy Now</li><li>3 Stocks You’ll Wish You Bought Before 2026</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVdUUkc?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVdUUkc"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Essential Utilities Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Essential Utilities, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Essential Utilities wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Essential Utilities currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

WTRG

<p>Norges Bank invested $102.35 million in Essential Utilities Inc., acquiring 2,755,714 shares during the second quarter. This stake represents 0.98% ownership of the company. Essential Utilities reported a quarterly EPS of $0.33, surpassing estimates, with a revenue increase of 9.6% year-over-year. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3426, yielding 3.5%. Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $44.00.</p>

Norges Bank Invests $102.35 Million in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG