Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Sold by ABC Arbitrage SA

ABC Arbitrage SA trimmed its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 28.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 113,982 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,423 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

WTRG opened at $38.61 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.78. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.10 and a fifty-two week high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.07). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.34% and a net margin of 21.82%.The company had revenue of $861.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on WTRG shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.40.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.