CenterBook Partners LP Has $825,000 Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

CenterBook Partners LP lessened its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 53.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,503 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,532 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in Essential Utilities by 31,466.7% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 947 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Essential Utilities by 43.6% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG opened at $37.64 on Thursday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $36.10 and a one year high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11 and a beta of 0.66.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.07). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.82% and a return on equity of 8.34%. The company had revenue of $861.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.90 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. UBS Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Argus raised shares of Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Two 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.80.

Essential Utilities Company 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.