Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Purchased by V Square Quantitative Management LLC

V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 49.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,137 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Pathstone Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 86.9% in the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 9,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 4,569 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 27.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 77,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,633,000 after acquiring an additional 16,496 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 60,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 37.5% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 52,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,806,000 after acquiring an additional 14,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 15.2% in the third quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 49,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 6,549 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.2 %

WTRG stock opened at $37.07 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $37.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.66. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $43.26. The company has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.84. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.03). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $612.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $747.44 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI reduced 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,100.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.