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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.33.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.1 %

Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $37.54. The stock had a trading volume of 450,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,465,415. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

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.