Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.63 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.98 and its 200-day moving average is $38.63. Essential Utilities has a 1 year low of $33.28 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The company has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 63.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.80.

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.