First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown Grows Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown raised its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 109,974 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Essential Utilities makes up 0.9% of First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 20th. Two 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $37.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.70. The company has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.79. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78.

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

Essential Utilities 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.