Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Has $4.16 Million Stock Position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 15.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 105,125 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,168 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bfsg LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.3% in 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 period. Apella Capital LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.4% in the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 38,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $36.95 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $38.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.72.

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

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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.

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