Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01, Zacks reports. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. Essential Utilities updated its FY 2025 guidance to 2.070-2.110 EPS.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,420,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,494,645. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 65.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.