Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Updates FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 2.070-2.110 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.100. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $40.74 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.01. Essential Utilities has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Utilities

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Essential Utilities stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 17,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

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.