First National Corp MA ADV Raises Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

First National Corp MA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 111.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,128 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,237 shares during the quarter. First National Corp MA ADV's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $638,000. abrdn plc lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 76.4% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 175,721 shares of the company's stock worth $6,337,000 after buying an additional 76,091 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 351,291 shares of the company's stock worth $12,759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 55,507 shares of the company's stock worth $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the period. Finally, Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 77,700 shares of the company's stock worth $2,822,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.0%

WTRG stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,313,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,496,955. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $39.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.93. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The firm has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on WTRG shares. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 20th. 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 note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.