Essential Utilities (WTRG) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Thursday

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) is scheduled to be announcing its earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, May 2nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.75 per share for the quarter. Individual that wish to listen to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.26% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $36.58 on Wednesday. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $32.07 and a 1-year high of $43.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.81. The company has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 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.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.3071 dividend. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. 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 66.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.