Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,672,007 shares of the company's stock after selling 59,004 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.97% of Essential Utilities worth $105,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.6%

Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $37.32. The company had a trading volume of 472,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,679,065. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $38.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.71. The stock has a market cap of $10.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.79.

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