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

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

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:WTRG traded down $0.47 on Wednesday, hitting $37.54. 2,420,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,494,645. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. Essential Utilities has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.86.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 65.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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