Balentine LLC Invests $281,000 in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Balentine LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1,006.2% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 45,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 41,406 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 79.8% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.5% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 19,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.3% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 438,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,057,000 after acquiring an additional 22,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.4% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 2.1 %

WTRG stock opened at $38.53 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.80. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $43.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.87 and its 200 day moving average is $36.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,100.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.