Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Updates FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 2.070-2.110 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.120. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WTRG. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.57.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of WTRG stock traded up $1.30 on Wednesday, hitting $39.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,212,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,819,915. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.73. The company has a market cap of $11.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $476.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $472.40 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 58.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,173,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 12,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 26,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $970,000 after buying an additional 1,274 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

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.