Virtu Financial LLC Acquires New Shares in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 181,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,963,000. Essential Utilities makes up about 0.3% of Virtu Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Virtu Financial LLC owned 0.06% of Essential Utilities as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 122.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,308,000 after purchasing an additional 519,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $36.64 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.10 and a 12-month high of $42.37. The firm has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60 and a beta of 0.66.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Argus raised Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.