Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Announces Earnings Results

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01, Zacks reports. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.82% and a return on equity of 8.34%. The company had revenue of $538.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.63 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $36.10 and a fifty-two week high of $42.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.88. The firm has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.64.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 69.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,335,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,023,000 after buying an additional 1,586,622 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1,651.9% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,551,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462,971 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 3,650.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,255,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221,746 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 1,572.4% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,271,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,212,000 after buying an additional 1,195,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Arbitrage LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,399,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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.