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

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) issued an update on its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 2.070-2.110 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.120. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.2 %

Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,420,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,494,645. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.86. The stock has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.87.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. As a group, analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

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.