Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 19,179 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 706,302 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,179 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.26% of Essential Utilities worth $27,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bfsg LLC lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 22.1% in 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 period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.2% in 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 period. Community Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.3% in 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 period. Apella Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 25,163 shares of the company's stock worth $914,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $37.53. 1,515,144 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,554,787. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.70. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $10.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released 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. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 9.81% and a net margin of 27.17%. The firm had revenue of $783.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The business's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on WTRG shares. 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 cut their target price on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.