Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.96-2.00 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.94. Essential Utilities also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 1.960-2.000 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. One investment 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.com, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.40.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 3.1 %

Essential Utilities stock traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.81. 199,686 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,522,000. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $33.28 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.84.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.41%.

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.