Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,477 shares of the company’s stock after selling 317 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 8.1% in 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 holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 31.2% in the 4th 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,317,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,526,000 after purchasing an additional 11,336 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,690,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,025,000 after purchasing an additional 236,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,331,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,985,000 after purchasing an additional 601,026 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WTRG. Robert W. Baird reduced 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 report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $36.82 on Monday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $38.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.70. The company has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.79.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.80 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.17% and a return on equity of 9.81%. Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

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.