Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.11 EPS

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.11, Zacks reports. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.09% and a return on equity of 10.20%. 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 company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.89 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.00. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $35.96 and a 12-month high of $42.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays set a $38.00 target price on Essential Utilities and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WTRG. State Street Corp grew its position in 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. Amundi raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,335,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,586,622 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,142,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,914,000 after acquiring an additional 35,662 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,962,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,015,000 after purchasing an additional 33,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,164,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,266,000 after buying an additional 151,427 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

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.