Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 29,708 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 536,718 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,708 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $21,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth about $82,000. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at about $526,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Essential Utilities by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 105,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,156,000 after acquiring an additional 14,168 shares in the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management increased its position in Essential Utilities by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 17,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in Essential Utilities by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $36.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.57 and its 200-day moving average is $37.69.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.80 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.17% and a return on equity of 9.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

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.