Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 2,579.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 132,505 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 127,559 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $5,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $638,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company's stock worth $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 108.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 150,332 shares of the company's stock worth $5,460,000 after buying an additional 78,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 104,213 shares of the company's stock worth $3,785,000 after buying an additional 7,929 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WTRG. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.9%

WTRG stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.00. 1,679,605 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,499,981. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.90. The company has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.