Short Interest in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Declines By 14.7%

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,360,000 shares, a decline of 14.7% from the April 30th total of 5,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:WTRG traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $37.62. 1,876,293 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,492,904. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. Essential Utilities has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.23. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business had revenue of $783.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $638,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 56,560 shares of the company's stock worth $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 3,569 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Essential Utilities by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,661 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 175,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,337,000 after buying an additional 76,091 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 351,291 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,759,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

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.