Essential Utilities (WTRG) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) will be issuing its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, May 2nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.75 per share for the quarter. Parties that wish to listen to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.26% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Essential Utilities to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:WTRG opened at $36.58 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities has a 52 week low of $32.07 and a 52 week high of $43.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.76 and a 200 day moving average of $35.81.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.3071 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.