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

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of 0.3255 per share on Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th.

Essential Utilities has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.8% 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 58.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Essential Utilities to earn $2.13 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 61.0%.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.3 %

WTRG stock opened at $40.74 on Friday. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week 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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.02.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Essential Utilities stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 17,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WTRG. StockNews.com upgraded Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

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.