Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 233,017 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,395 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned about 0.09% of Essential Utilities worth $7,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Essential Utilities by 20.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 578,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,852,000 after acquiring an additional 99,765 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 235,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,096,000 after buying an additional 29,372 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 34,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after buying an additional 3,104 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Essential Utilities by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 106,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,661,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 79.6% in the third quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 13,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 6,061 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $87,661.06. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,425.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were 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. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.3 %

WTRG traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $37.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 266,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,602,462. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.07 and a twelve month high of $43.26. The stock has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $747.44 million. On average, analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. One research 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

About Essential Utilities

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.