Q2 EPS Estimate for Essential Utilities Reduced by Analyst

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) - Zacks Research cut their Q2 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Essential Utilities in a research report issued on Monday, November 25th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $0.35 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.38. The consensus estimate for Essential Utilities' current full-year earnings is $2.01 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Essential Utilities' Q4 2025 earnings at $0.63 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $0.37 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on WTRG. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE WTRG traded up $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.29. 1,193,734 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,528,915. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $11.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $39.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.87. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $33.57 and a 12-month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 139,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 15,009 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 80,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,992,000 after purchasing an additional 4,499 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 610,667 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,625,000 after purchasing an additional 64,394 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 6,491 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 198.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 48,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,806,000 after purchasing an additional 32,415 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 65.00%.

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.