UMB Bank n.a. Buys 2,150 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 465.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,612 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth $35,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 20th. 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $39.21 and its 200 day moving average is $37.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.