Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

by · The Markets Daily

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Free Report) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.96-2.00 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.94. Essential Utilities also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 1.960-2.000 EPS.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 4.4 %

WTRG traded down $1.78 during trading on Thursday, reaching $38.57. 736,261 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,530,031. The stock has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $33.28 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.67.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.94% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 65.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on WTRG

Essential Utilities Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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