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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.80.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE WTRG traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $38.63. 1,823,627 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,528,208. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Essential Utilities has a twelve month low of $33.28 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.60.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. Essential Utilities’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. Research analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.41%.

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.