Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by Kathmere Capital Management LLC

Kathmere Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 19.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,345 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,902 shares during the quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,607,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 3,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.1% during the first quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 7,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $37.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $37.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.73. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $43.26.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $612.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $747.44 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. Research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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 decreased their price target 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

About Essential Utilities

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.