Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $145.20 Million Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 20.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,605,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 934,526 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $145,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Econ Financial Services Corp bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth about $2,551,000. Christine Messmer PC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.5% during the first quarter. Christine Messmer PC now owns 35,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 2,756 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth about $3,302,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Essential Utilities by 611.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,744,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,258,000 after buying an additional 1,499,450 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.2%

WTRG opened at $38.58 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.72 and a 200-day moving average of $38.73. The company has a market capitalization of $10.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 0.66. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.10 and a fifty-two week high of $42.37. 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 (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 business had revenue of $861.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on WTRG. UBS Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $41.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Two research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.80.

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.