Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Bought by A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc.

A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 105.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 76,790 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,445 shares during the quarter. Essential Utilities comprises approximately 2.0% of A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,833,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,641,000 after buying an additional 241,176 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,335,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,023,000 after buying an additional 1,586,622 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,233,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,197,000 after purchasing an additional 120,947 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,539,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,163,000 after buying an additional 741,587 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,149,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,158,000 after purchasing an additional 662,334 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $37.27 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $37.79 and its 200-day moving average is $38.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.10 and a 52 week high of $42.37. The company has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 0.66.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $861.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.