Rhumbline Advisers Grows Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 851,116 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,332 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.30% of Essential Utilities worth $33,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 8.1% during 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 increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $244,296,000 after buying an additional 1,597,672 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 11,336 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 236,250 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,331,090 shares of the company's stock worth $120,985,000 after acquiring an additional 601,026 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $37.62. 1,876,293 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,494,626. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $39.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.96. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The company has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.80 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on 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 lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.