Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Boosts Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,677 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,619 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 17,553.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,425,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,156,000 after buying an additional 3,405,947 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,288,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 271.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,225,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,785,000 after acquiring an additional 896,223 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,992,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,504,000 after acquiring an additional 823,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,097,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $87,661.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at $488,368.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WTRG traded down $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $40.54. 869,464 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,598,365. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.92. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $43.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.83.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $612.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $747.44 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.62%. On average, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

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.