Essential Utilities (WTRG) to Release Earnings on Thursday

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) will likely be releasing its Q1 2026 results before the market opens on Thursday, May 7th. Analysts expect Essential Utilities to post earnings of $0.9050 per share and revenue of $782.90 million for the quarter. Interested persons may visit the the company’s upcoming Q1 2026 earning results page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 11:00 AM ET.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.11. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 24.91%.The company had revenue of $699.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.7% 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 Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.45. 162,164 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,398,726. Essential Utilities has a twelve month low of $36.32 and a twelve month high of $42.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.38.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Essential Utilities by 168.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Essential Utilities by 47.7% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its position in Essential Utilities by 13.6% in the third quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 3,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Argus raised Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.20.

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.