Essential Utilities (WTRG) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Thursday

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) is scheduled to issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, May 2nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.75 per share for the quarter. Parties interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.26% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Essential Utilities to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $36.54 on Thursday. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $44.05. The company has a market cap of $9.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.72.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.3071 dividend. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.