Seaport Res Ptn Has Positive Outlook of WTRG FY2025 Earnings

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn upped their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Essential Utilities in a research report issued on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski now expects that the company will earn $2.09 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.08. The consensus estimate for Essential Utilities’ current full-year earnings is $2.01 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Essential Utilities’ FY2026 earnings at $2.22 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.37 EPS.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $35.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $33.57 and a 12-month high of $41.78.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227,010 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 117.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,320 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at about $30,842,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,795,000 after purchasing an additional 237,096 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.00%.

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.