John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Sells 21,148 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 260,902 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,148 shares during the period. Essential Utilities makes up about 1.6% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Essential Utilities worth $10,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WTRG. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth $33,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth $35,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth $42,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WTRG. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.3%

WTRG stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,202,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,687,390. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company's fifty day moving average price is $37.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.79.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 27.17% and a return on equity of 9.81%. The company had revenue of $783.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The company's quarterly 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 EPS for the current 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.