Rhumbline Advisers Buys 50,332 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 851,116 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 50,332 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.30% of Essential Utilities worth $33,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,091,820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245,256 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $244,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597,672 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $52,355,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 74.6% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,593,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,860,000 after acquiring an additional 680,760 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,313,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,496,955. The company has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.92.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut 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 raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.