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

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. Essential Utilities updated its FY 2025 guidance to 2.070-2.110 EPS.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE WTRG opened at $38.05 on Friday. Essential Utilities has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.86. The stock has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.87.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 65.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.33.

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.