Seaport Res Ptn Has Positive Outlook of WTRG FY2025 Earnings

Key Points

• Seaport Res Ptn has increased its FY2025 earnings estimate for Essential Utilities (NYSE: WTRG) to $2.10 per share, up from $2.09, while the current consensus estimate is $1.99 per share.
• Essential Utilities reported $1.03 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.80, and marked a 28.0% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Institutional investors own approximately 74.78% of Essential Utilities' stock, with several hedge funds recently increasing their stakes in the company.

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) - Seaport Res Ptn upped their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Essential Utilities in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, July 28th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $2.10 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.09. The consensus estimate for Essential Utilities' current full-year earnings is $1.99 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Essential Utilities' FY2027 earnings at $2.38 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $2.51 EPS.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.28% and a net margin of 27.62%. The company had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $462.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 3.9%

NYSE WTRG traded up $1.42 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.22. 2,419,488 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,640,782. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $37.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.87.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,317,312 shares of the company's stock worth $156,526,000 after purchasing an additional 11,336 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,690,116 shares of the company's stock worth $134,025,000 after purchasing an additional 236,250 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,331,090 shares of the company's stock worth $120,985,000 after purchasing an additional 601,026 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $102,600,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.7% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 2,544,883 shares of the company's stock worth $94,517,000 after purchasing an additional 68,072 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is currently 58.30%.

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.