Norges Bank Invests $154.18 Million in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,019,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,176,000. Norges Bank owned 1.42% of Essential Utilities as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $3,547,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 99,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,968,000 after acquiring an additional 28,329 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 966,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,571,000 after acquiring an additional 135,899 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 257,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,278,000 after acquiring an additional 44,855 shares during the period. Finally, A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $1,432,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Argus upgraded Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.80.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $37.03 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $38.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.94. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.10 and a twelve month high of $42.37. The stock has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.07). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.82% and a return on equity of 8.34%. The business had revenue of $861.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.