abrdn plc Sells 1,450 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Posted by on May 26th, 2023

abrdn plc lessened its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG – Get Rating) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,734 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,450 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EWG Elevate Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Romano Brothers AND Company acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 47.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.96% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:WTRG opened at $40.16 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.50 and a 12-month high of $52.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.16.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 8th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 19.75%. The company had revenue of $726.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $682.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Essential Utilities from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. Northcoast Research cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. StockNews.com cut Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, CEO Chris Franklin bought 37,245 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $40.70 per share, for a total transaction of $1,515,871.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 37,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,515,871.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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Essential Utilities, Inc is a holding company, which engages in providing water, wastewater and natural gas services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. The Regulated Water segment includes water and wastewater regulated utility companies.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG)

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