Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.960-2.000 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.030. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Essential Utilities also updated its FY 2025 guidance to 2.070-2.110 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WTRG. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.80.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG traded up $0.39 during trading on Monday, reaching $38.63. 1,823,627 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,528,208. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $38.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities has a 1 year low of $33.28 and a 1 year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.41%.

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.