Point72 Asset Management L.P. Sells 541,634 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 67.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 258,013 shares of the company's stock after selling 541,634 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.09% of Essential Utilities worth $9,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WTRG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company's stock worth $1,091,820,000 after buying an additional 2,245,256 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company's stock worth $244,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597,672 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,317,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,526,000 after purchasing an additional 11,336 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,690,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,025,000 after purchasing an additional 236,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,331,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,985,000 after purchasing an additional 601,026 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WTRG traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.81. 479,997 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,610,039. The company's 50 day moving average price is $39.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.01. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Essential Utilities's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.50.

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.