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

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 2.000- for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.980. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG traded up $0.37 on Monday, hitting $38.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 182,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,782,508. The company has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.80. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $32.07 and a fifty-two week high of $43.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.89.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3071 per share. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.29%.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at $488,368.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.