Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,800 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,700 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.06% of Essential Utilities worth $6,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $638,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 108.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 150,332 shares of the company's stock worth $5,460,000 after acquiring an additional 78,121 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 104,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,785,000 after purchasing an additional 7,929 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in Essential Utilities by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 10,668 shares of the company's stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE WTRG traded up $0.38 on Wednesday, hitting $37.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,048,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,508,715. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.83.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities 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.