Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.33

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 12th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of 0.3255 per share on Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th.

Essential Utilities has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 32 years. Essential Utilities has a dividend payout ratio of 61.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Essential Utilities to earn $2.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 61.3%.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.08 on Friday. Essential Utilities has a 12 month low of $33.57 and a 12 month high of $41.78. 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 capitalization of $10.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.91.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

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.