EP Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 587 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,148 shares of the company’s stock after selling 587 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $604,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 62,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,318,000 after acquiring an additional 3,029 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 13,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 3,093 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCommodity Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $4,888,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $37.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.07 and a 52-week high of $43.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.25 and a 200 day moving average of $36.67. 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 (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.03). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $612.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $747.44 million. On average, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.