Essential Utilities Inc. (WTRG) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.36 on September 1st

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of 0.3606 per share on Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a 5.3% increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34.

Essential Utilities has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 32 consecutive years. Essential Utilities has a payout ratio of 64.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Essential Utilities to earn $2.42 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 59.5%.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $40.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.45 and a 200 day moving average of $38.89. Essential Utilities has a 12 month low of $36.10 and a 12 month high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.The business had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.