Manchester Capital Management LLC Sells 16,110 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Manchester Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 83.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,099 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,110 shares during the quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 31,466.7% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 944 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 43.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE:WTRG opened at $37.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 0.66. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $36.10 and a one year high of $42.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.88.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $861.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.34% and a net margin of 21.82%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $41.00 to $43.00 in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Argus upgraded Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Two research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.