Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Acquires 1,867 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,255 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $998,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 8.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in 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 worth $244,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597,672 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $156,526,000 after acquiring an additional 11,336 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake 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 worth $134,025,000 after acquiring an additional 236,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 22.0% during 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 in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.35 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $713.80 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of 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 decreased 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

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.