Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02), Briefing.com reports. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.76 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $39.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $10.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.83. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $38.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.15.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.40.

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.