Zacks Research Issues Negative Outlook for WTRG Earnings

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) – Research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for Essential Utilities in a note issued to investors on Monday, March 17th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $0.75 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.83. The consensus estimate for Essential Utilities’ current full-year earnings is $1.99 per share.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%.

WTRG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.4 %

WTRG opened at $39.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.84. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 59.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,091,820,000 after buying an additional 2,245,256 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,296,000 after buying an additional 1,597,672 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,355,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after buying an additional 972,803 shares during the period. 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.