Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 2.000- for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 1.980. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $38.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 182,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,782,508. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.89. Essential Utilities has a one year low of $32.07 and a one year high of $43.74.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business’s revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.3071 dividend. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 58.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $488,368.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $488,368.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% 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.