Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 21.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 96,463 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,118 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Essential Utilities by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company's stock worth $1,091,820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245,256 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company's stock worth $244,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597,672 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,355,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in Essential Utilities by 74.6% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,593,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,860,000 after purchasing an additional 680,760 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.9%

Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $37.33. The company had a trading volume of 2,136,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,506,717. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.85. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.80 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. Essential Utilities's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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.