Hennessy Advisors Inc. Decreases Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,700 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $6,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 24,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 38,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.9%

Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.00 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.87. The company has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $783.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

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.