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

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) released its earnings results on Monday. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $40.35 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $39.03 and its 200-day moving average is $38.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $33.28 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.60.

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.