Essential Utilities (WTRG) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Monday

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) is set to post its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Monday, November 4th. Analysts expect Essential Utilities to post earnings of $0.23 per share for the quarter. Persons that wish to listen to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. 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 Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $38.84 on Monday. Essential Utilities has a 52-week low of $32.95 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.84.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WTRG. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.80.

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.