Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 106,252 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its Essential Utilities stake by 3.8% in the first quarter, adding 106,252 shares to own 2.88 million shares valued at approximately $116 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 74.78% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.80; recent targets range from $40 at Barclays to $46 at UBS.
• Essential Utilities shares opened at $40.68, up 2.9%, while the company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.83 missed estimates of $0.90 despite revenue rising 10% year over year to $861.76 million.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,881,490 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 106,252 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.02% of Essential Utilities worth $116,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $3,547,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $958,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $638,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $1,430,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 130.1% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 232,963 shares of the company's stock worth $8,936,000 after acquiring an additional 131,712 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.80.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 2.9%

NYSE:WTRG opened at $40.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.85. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $36.10 and a one year high of $42.37. The firm has a market cap of $11.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $861.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.90 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.82% and a return on equity of 8.34%. Essential Utilities's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.

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