Balentine LLC Invests $281,000 in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Balentine LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 7,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WTRG. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,288,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,964,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 271.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,225,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,785,000 after acquiring an additional 896,223 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $21,570,000. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,097,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of Essential Utilities 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $488,368.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of WTRG opened at $38.53 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.62. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.07 and a 52-week high of $43.26. The company has a market cap of $10.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.80.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. 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 a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Company 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.