Essential Utilities Inc. (WTRG) To Go Ex-Dividend on November 10th

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3606 per share on Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th.

Essential Utilities has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 32 consecutive years. Essential Utilities has a payout ratio of 64.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Essential Utilities to earn $2.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 59.3%.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $45.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.56. The firm has a market cap of $13.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.62. Essential Utilities has a twelve month low of $36.10 and a twelve month high of $46.36.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $508.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $450.44 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.36% and a net margin of 21.79%. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. Analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides water and wastewater services through its Aqua operations and natural gas distribution through Peoples Natural Gas. Its services include treating and delivering drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and supplying natural gas to homes and businesses.

The company traces its water utility roots to the Springfield Water Company, founded in Pennsylvania in 1886. It adopted the Essential Utilities name in 2020, following its acquisition of Peoples Natural Gas and the expansion of its business beyond water and wastewater services.

Essential Utilities serves customers in several states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia.