New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $22.27 Million Stock Position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 563,272 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,868 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.20% of Essential Utilities worth $22,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bfsg LLC grew its position in Essential Utilities by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Essential Utilities by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 24,652 shares of the company's stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. grew its position in Essential Utilities by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 23,928 shares of the company's stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC grew its position in Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 115,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,584,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of WTRG opened at $37.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business's fifty day moving average price is $38.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.74. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 9.81% and a net margin of 27.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.

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