Covea Finance Purchases Shares of 34,500 Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Covea Finance bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 34,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,364,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bfsg LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 22.1% in the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Essential Utilities by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 24,652 shares of the company's stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. increased its position in Essential Utilities by 1.3% during the first quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 23,928 shares of the company's stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19,527 shares of the company's stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE WTRG traded down $0.77 on Wednesday, reaching $37.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,868,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,522,657. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.76. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.23. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 9.81% and a net margin of 27.17%. The business had revenue of $783.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.