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

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Monday. 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WTRG. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. 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. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.60.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock traded up $0.36 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,064,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,526,898. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $39.01 and its 200-day moving average is $38.66. The company has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities has a 1 year low of $33.28 and a 1 year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.94% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 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.