Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.23, 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $40.74 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. 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 one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.01.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Essential Utilities stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 17,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

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.