Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Estimate for WTRG Earnings

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) – Analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q2 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Essential Utilities in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $0.34 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.33. The consensus estimate for Essential Utilities’ current full-year earnings is $1.99 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Essential Utilities’ FY2026 earnings at $2.24 EPS.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on WTRG. Argus upgraded Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.20.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $38.68 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.42. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $36.32 and a fifty-two week high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 0.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.91% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The business had revenue of $699.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,246,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,246,719,000 after purchasing an additional 838,450 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,833,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,641,000 after purchasing an additional 241,176 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,972,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,057,000 after purchasing an additional 1,822,306 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,335,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,023,000 after buying an additional 1,586,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,233,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,197,000 after buying an additional 120,947 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Essential Utilities

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.