FY2026 Earnings Estimate for WTRG Issued By Zacks Research

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their FY2026 EPS estimates for Essential Utilities in a research report issued on Monday, September 28th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $2.11 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $2.10. The consensus estimate for Essential Utilities’ current full-year earnings is $2.21 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Essential Utilities’ Q4 2027 earnings at $0.57 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $2.54 EPS.

Several other research firms have also commented on WTRG. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.75.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.16 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.31. The stock has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Essential Utilities has a 52-week low of $36.10 and a 52-week high of $42.51.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The company had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a $0.3606 dividend. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3426. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,073.85. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 13.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 81,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,110,000 after purchasing an additional 9,637 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 5.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,119,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $502,595,000 after purchasing an additional 687,688 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 5.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 289,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,106,000 after purchasing an additional 14,976 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 5.7% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 44,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides essential water, wastewater and natural gas services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. Its water operations include the treatment, distribution and supply of drinking water, while its wastewater business manages the collection and treatment of sewage. The company also distributes natural gas through regulated utility operations.

The company serves customers across several U.S. states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, Georgia and West Virginia.