Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 58,173 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 595,235 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,173 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.22% of Essential Utilities worth $21,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 58,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,107,000 after purchasing an additional 11,253 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,646 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 74.6% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,593,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,860,000 after purchasing an additional 680,760 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 233.5% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 353,672 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,845,000 after purchasing an additional 247,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $37.99. 514,427 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,600,012. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $39.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.98. The firm has a market cap of $10.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS 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.