Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shareholders to Get $0.36 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• Essential Utilities declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3606 per share, payable December 1 to shareholders of record on November 10. The dividend annualizes to $1.44 per share and yields approximately 3.4%.
• The company has increased its dividend for 32 consecutive years, with a 64.6% payout ratio indicating coverage by earnings. Analysts expect next year’s earnings of $2.43 per share, implying a projected payout ratio of 59.3%.
• WTRG shares rose 3.7% to $42.23, near their 52-week high, while analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $43.25.

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3606 per share on Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th.

Essential Utilities has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 32 consecutive years. Essential Utilities has a dividend payout ratio of 64.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Essential Utilities to earn $2.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 59.3%.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 3.7%

WTRG traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $42.23. 283,969 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,250,212. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.63. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $36.10 and a 1-year high of $42.51. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $40.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%. The firm had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.25.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides water, wastewater and natural gas services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. Through its Aqua and Peoples operations, the company owns and operates water and wastewater systems, natural gas distribution networks and related infrastructure. Its services include the treatment and delivery of drinking water, collection and treatment of wastewater, and the distribution of natural gas.

The company serves customers across several U.S.

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