Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Purchased by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 59.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,327 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,171 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 92.8% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 148,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,529,000 after purchasing an additional 71,222 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $638,000. RWC Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,119,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $504,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,071,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,250,000 after purchasing an additional 199,936 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE WTRG traded down $0.70 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 770,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,604,764. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $39.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.97. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.23. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business 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 business posted $0.97 EPS. Essential Utilities's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WTRG. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.50.

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.