27,263 Shares in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Purchased by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 27,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SouthState Corp raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 834.7% in the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 141.2% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.16 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.84. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $33.38 and a one year high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $476.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $472.40 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.09% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.29.

Essential Utilities 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.