California State Teachers Retirement System Increases Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 953,574 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 105,590 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.35% of Essential Utilities worth $34,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target 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 raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.53. The company had a trading volume of 4,168,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,484,277. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $39.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.96. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

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 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 firm had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Essential Utilities's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current 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.