Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Takes Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 98,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,762,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 187,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,200,000 after buying an additional 3,729 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 86,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,320,000 after acquiring an additional 2,640 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 102,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,531 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,244,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $36.57 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 0.67. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.32 and a 52 week high of $42.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.09.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued 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). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.34% and a net margin of 21.82%.The business 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 business earned $1.03 EPS. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus raised shares of Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. UBS Group set a $41.00 target price on Essential Utilities in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.40.

Essential Utilities Company 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.