Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Invests $366,000 in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $366,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,000. abrdn plc increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 175,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,337,000 after purchasing an additional 76,091 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 55,507 shares of the company's stock worth $2,016,000 after buying an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 77,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,822,000 after buying an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Corp MA ADV increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 28,891 shares of the company's stock worth $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 12,976 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $38.35. 1,359,999 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,496,855. The company has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $713.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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.