Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.960-2.000 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.030. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Essential Utilities also updated its FY 2025 guidance to 2.070-2.110 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WTRG traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $39.18. 1,374,462 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,532,467. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $33.28 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.67. The firm has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.00%.

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.