Millennium Management LLC Has $511,000 Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Millennium Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 98.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,062 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,229,422 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $638,000. abrdn plc grew its position in Essential Utilities by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 175,721 shares of the company's stock worth $6,337,000 after purchasing an additional 76,091 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of 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. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 902 shares during the period. Finally, First National Corp MA ADV raised its position in Essential Utilities by 81.5% during the 4th quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 28,891 shares of the company's stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 12,976 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. Evercore ISI raised 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. 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 increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.7%

Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $38.35. 1,359,999 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,496,855. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.91. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.80 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate 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.