Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.96-2.00 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.94. Essential Utilities also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 1.960-2.000 EPS.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE WTRG traded up $0.10 on Wednesday, hitting $40.22. The company had a trading volume of 407,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,523,844. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $33.28 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.66.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.60.

About Essential Utilities

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.