Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 706,302 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,179 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.26% of Essential Utilities worth $27,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bfsg LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 22.1% in the first 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 raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 25,163 shares of the company's stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:WTRG traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,401,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,548,952. 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 $10.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.15 and a 200 day moving average of $37.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.23. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.17% and a return on equity of 9.81%. The firm had revenue of $783.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Essential Utilities's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WTRG. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. 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 equities research 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, Essential Utilities presently 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.