Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.07), Zacks reports. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.82% and a return on equity of 8.34%. The company had revenue of $861.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.90 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Essential Utilities’ conference call:

• Company cleared a key regulatory milestone with the Kentucky Public Service Commission approval and earlier shareholder votes (95%), and management says the merger with American Water remains on track to close by end of Q1 2027 with active integration planning underway.
• Q1 GAAP EPS was $0.79 (including ~$0.04 of merger costs) and adjusted non‑GAAP EPS was $0.83, and management reaffirmed its 5%–7% annual EPS growth target through 2027 off a 2024 base of $1.97.
• Operationally they invested $269 million in Q1 and remain on track for $1.7 billion of 2026 capital spending to address PFAS/lead, reliability and safety (targeting 106 PFAS project completions) and are accelerating gas safety upgrades like Intelis meter installations.
• Acquisition program continues: closed the Greenville Water deal and has signed agreements adding about 201,000 customers for ~$285 million, with a broader pipeline of ~400,000 customers — though the DELCORA transaction remains stalled by a bankruptcy stay.
• Regulatory and political risk in Pennsylvania could pressure outcomes: the company booked $15.1 million of regulatory recoveries but has pending water/wastewater cases (~$102M annualized) and a Pennsylvania gas base rate case (~$163.2M), while the governor’s affordability initiative could complicate rate and merger reviews.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.7%

WTRG stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $37.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,006,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,545,093. Essential Utilities has a 52 week low of $36.32 and a 52 week high of $42.37. The stock has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.31.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Thursday. Argus raised shares of Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Utilities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,833,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $530,641,000 after purchasing an additional 241,176 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,335,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586,622 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,142,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,914,000 after purchasing an additional 35,662 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,962,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,015,000 after purchasing an additional 33,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,164,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,266,000 after purchasing an additional 151,427 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.