Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Posts Earnings Results

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The company had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of WTRG opened at $40.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.84. 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 one year low of $33.28 and a one year high of $41.78. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.66.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 63.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group started 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.40.

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.