Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Sells 18,568 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. decreased its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 18.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 79,507 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,568 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 111.1% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.9% during the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 25,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 5.1% in the first quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 213,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,598,000 after buying an additional 10,408 shares in the last quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 6.0% in the first quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 122,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,916,000 after buying an additional 6,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trilogy Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.7% in the first quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 81,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,264,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Argus raised Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.40.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.1%

WTRG stock opened at $39.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.10 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.76.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. Essential Utilities’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Essential Utilities

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.