Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.02), Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WTRG traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.67. 74,207 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,581,638. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Essential Utilities has a twelve month low of $32.07 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.15.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.40.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.