Essential Utilities (WTRG) Stock Forecast, Price & News

4 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Essential Utilities in the last twelve months. There are currently 1 hold rating and 3 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" WTRG shares.
View WTRG analyst ratings or view top-rated stocks.

4 brokers have issued twelve-month price objectives for Essential Utilities' stock. Their WTRG share price forecasts range from $44.00 to $55.00. On average, they predict the company's stock price to reach $51.25 in the next year. This suggests a possible upside of 41.3% from the stock's current price.
View analysts price targets for WTRG or view top-rated stocks among Wall Street analysts.

Essential Utilities' stock was trading at $47.73 on January 1st, 2023. Since then, WTRG stock has decreased by 24.0% and is now trading at $36.26.
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The company is scheduled to release its next quarterly earnings announcement on Monday, November 6th 2023.
View our WTRG earnings forecast.

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August, 7th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34. The firm had revenue of $436.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.07 million. Essential Utilities had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 20.25%. Essential Utilities's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share.

Essential Utilities announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.3071 per share on Friday, September 1st. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 10th. This is a positive change from the stock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29.
Read our dividend analysis for WTRG.

ETFs with the largest weight of Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) stock in their portfolio include Global X Clean Water ETF (AQWA), Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF (CGW), iShares Environmental Infrastructure and Industrials ETF (EFRA), Ecofin Global Water ESG Fund (EBLU), First Trust Water ETF (FIW), Invesco Water Resources ETF (PHO), Invesco Real Assets ESG ETF (IVRA) and ProShares S&P MidCap 400 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (REGL).

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 3.39%. The company has been increasing its dividend for 32 consecutive years, indicating the company has a strong committment to maintain and grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio is 69.89%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, WTRG will have a dividend payout ratio of 61.50% next year. This indicates that the company will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.
Read our dividend analysis for WTRG.

Essential Utilities issued an update on its FY23 earnings guidance on Monday, August, 7th. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.85-1.90 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.86.

Essential Utilities trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol "WTRG."

Essential Utilities' stock is owned by a number of retail and institutional investors. Top institutional shareholders include BlackRock Inc. (11.38%), State Street Corp (5.39%), Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich (3.97%), Geode Capital Management LLC (1.36%), Northern Trust Corp (1.27%) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp (1.02%). Insiders that own company stock include Chris Franklin, Colleen Arnold, Daniel Schuller, Ellen T Ruff, Richard Scott Fox and Robert A Rubin.
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Shares of WTRG stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include WeBull, Vanguard Brokerage Services, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, Robinhood, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab.
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One share of WTRG stock can currently be purchased for approximately $36.26.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion and generates $2.29 billion in revenue each year. The company earns $465.24 million in net income (profit) each year or $1.76 on an earnings per share basis.

The company employs 3,187 workers across the globe.

Essential Utilities' mailing address is 762 W. LANCASTER AVENUE, BRYN MAWR PA, 19010. The official website for the company is www.essential.co. The company can be reached via phone at (610) 527-8000, via email at investorrelations@essential.co, or via fax at 610-645-1061.