South Dakota Investment Council Has $4.07 Million Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

South Dakota Investment Council increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 45.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,006 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,000 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 2,245,256 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,597,672 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $52,355,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 74.6% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,593,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,860,000 after buying an additional 680,760 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on WTRG shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.42. 2,627,317 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,555,466. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.79. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.80 and a 200 day moving average of $37.76.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $783.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.80 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 9.81% and a net margin of 27.17%. Essential Utilities's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Essential Utilities

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.