Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $476.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $472.40 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. Essential Utilities updated its FY 2025 guidance to 2.070-2.110 EPS.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG opened at $39.78 on Thursday. Essential Utilities has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $42.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.74. The stock has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $47.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Northcoast Research set a $46.00 price target on Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, October 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.57.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.6% in the second 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 last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.5% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 398,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,811,000 after buying an additional 13,596 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 24.4% in the second quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 117,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,380,000 after buying an additional 23,097 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth about $608,000. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth about $1,251,000. 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.