FY2024 Earnings Estimate for WTRG Issued By Seaport Res Ptn

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn issued their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Essential Utilities in a research report issued on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski expects that the company will earn $1.92 per share for the year. The consensus estimate for Essential Utilities’ current full-year earnings is $2.01 per share.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on WTRG. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.20.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.8 %

Essential Utilities stock opened at $35.00 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $33.57 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.81.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.6% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 881,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,912,000 after buying an additional 21,804 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,002,000 after acquiring an additional 234,857 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,585,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,152,000 after acquiring an additional 84,596 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth about $708,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.