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

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 175,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $6,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WTRG. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 78.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,607,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 3,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 7,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $37.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 744,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,629,609. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.50 and a 200 day moving average of $36.71. The stock has a market cap of $10.23 billion, a PE 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 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $43.26.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.03). The business 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About Essential Utilities

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.