Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. Has $7.72 Million Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 200,207 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $7,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.5% in the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 6,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 8,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.5% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WTRG. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.80.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $38.74 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.00 and a 1 year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities 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.