Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $3.30 Million in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Posted by on Jun 28th, 2026

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG – Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 82,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,302,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,547,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 21.1% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 257,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,278,000 after purchasing an additional 44,855 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 99,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,968,000 after buying an additional 28,329 shares in the last quarter. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,432,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth about $958,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.58 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.10 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 0.66.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $861.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.34% and a net margin of 21.82%.Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WTRG. Argus raised shares of Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.80.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG)

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