Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 520,598 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 92.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,031 shares of the company’s stock after selling 520,598 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,547,000. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $1,432,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $958,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $638,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,430,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WTRG. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Argus raised shares of 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 report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.80.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $37.91 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.77. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.10 and a fifty-two week high of $42.37. The company has a market capitalization of $10.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $861.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.34% and a net margin of 21.82%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 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.