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

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

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.2 %

WTRG stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,420,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,494,645. The business has a 50 day moving average of $35.51 and a 200 day moving average of $37.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.87. Essential Utilities has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors 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 yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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.