Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyEssential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.11, Zacks reports. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 28.09%.
Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.3%
Shares of Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $39.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,379,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,045,380. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $35.96 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.70 and a 200 day moving average of $38.99. The company has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.
Essential Utilities Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 56.85%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
WTRG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a 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 target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (down from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.29.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Essential Utilities
Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,833,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $530,641,000 after purchasing an additional 241,176 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,335,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,023,000 after buying an additional 1,586,622 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,142,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,914,000 after buying an additional 35,662 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,962,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,015,000 after acquiring an additional 33,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,164,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,266,000 after acquiring an additional 151,427 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Essential Utilities Company Profile
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.
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