Econ Financial Services Corp Makes New Investment in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Econ Financial Services Corp bought a new stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 63,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,551,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 31,466.7% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 947 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $38.58 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.10 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $37.72 and a 200-day moving average of $38.72.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.07). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.34% and a net margin of 21.82%.The company had revenue of $861.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $41.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Argus raised shares of Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.80.

Essential Utilities 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.