Boston Trust Walden Corp Trims Stock Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Boston Trust Walden Corp lessened its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,481,448 shares of the company’s stock after selling 77,242 shares during the period. Essential Utilities makes up approximately 0.8% of Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $99,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.9% in the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 25,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 10,408 shares during the period. Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its position in shares of 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. raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Argus raised Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.40.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $39.33 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.76. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.10 and a 12 month high of $42.37.

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