Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.33

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.3255 per share on Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th.

Essential Utilities has increased its dividend by an average of 6.8% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 32 consecutive years. Essential Utilities has a dividend payout ratio of 58.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Essential Utilities to earn $2.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 61.0%.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE WTRG traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $35.95. 1,695,219 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,414,955. Essential Utilities has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.96. The company has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

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.