Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Position Lessened by Principal Financial Group Inc.

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, CX Institutional purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $37.34. 223,311 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,546,128. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.70. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.79.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. Essential Utilities's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.