Essential Utilities Inc. (WTRG) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.34 on June 1st

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of 0.3426 per share on Monday, June 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th.

Essential Utilities has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 32 years. Essential Utilities has a payout ratio of 61.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Essential Utilities to earn $2.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.37 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 64.3%.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.5%

WTRG stock opened at $38.99 on Thursday. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $35.35 and a 12-month high of $42.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.61 and its 200 day moving average is $38.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 0.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays set a $38.00 price target on Essential Utilities and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $47.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.29.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.