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

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

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.35. 2,530,546 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,533,723. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.03 and a 200 day moving average of $38.67. Essential Utilities has a 1 year low of $33.28 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 65.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.