Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in Essential Utilities by 53.9% in the first quarter, selling more than 2.2 million shares and leaving it with 1.91 million shares worth about $77 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: UBS and Barclays both raised their price targets, while other firms issued hold or sell views. Overall, MarketBeat shows an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $43.80.
• Essential Utilities reported Q1 EPS of $0.83, missing estimates, but revenue came in at $861.76 million, topping forecasts and rising 10% year over year.

First Trust Advisors LP cut its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 53.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,911,611 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,231,098 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.67% of Essential Utilities worth $76,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth about $3,547,000. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,432,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $958,000. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,430,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.1%

WTRG stock opened at $39.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.10 and a twelve month high of $42.37. The company's 50 day moving average is $37.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.82.

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

Essential Utilities Profile

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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