Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 7,000 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 175,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.06% of Essential Utilities worth $6,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 604.0% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 78.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4,210.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 246.0% in the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:WTRG traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $37.39. 744,818 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,629,609. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $32.07 and a one year high of $43.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.71.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued 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). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. The business had revenue of $612.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $747.44 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,100.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Company 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.