Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

by · The Markets Daily

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.960-2.000 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.030. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Essential Utilities also updated its FY 2025 guidance to 2.070-2.110 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of 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 reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.40.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG traded up $1.15 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 615,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,523,943. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities has a 12 month low of $33.28 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.63.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities 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, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.41%.

About Essential Utilities

(Get Free Report)

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.

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