Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.07), Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $861.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.34% and a net margin of 21.82%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Essential Utilities’ conference call:

• Company cleared a key regulatory milestone with the Kentucky Public Service Commission approval and earlier shareholder votes (95%), and management says the merger with American Water remains on track to close by end of Q1 2027 with active integration planning underway.
• Q1 GAAP EPS was $0.79 (including ~$0.04 of merger costs) and adjusted non‑GAAP EPS was $0.83, and management reaffirmed its 5%–7% annual EPS growth target through 2027 off a 2024 base of $1.97.
• Operationally they invested $269 million in Q1 and remain on track for $1.7 billion of 2026 capital spending to address PFAS/lead, reliability and safety (targeting 106 PFAS project completions) and are accelerating gas safety upgrades like Intelis meter installations.
• Acquisition program continues: closed the Greenville Water deal and has signed agreements adding about 201,000 customers for ~$285 million, with a broader pipeline of ~400,000 customers — though the DELCORA transaction remains stalled by a bankruptcy stay.
• Regulatory and political risk in Pennsylvania could pressure outcomes: the company booked $15.1 million of regulatory recoveries but has pending water/wastewater cases (~$102M annualized) and a Pennsylvania gas base rate case (~$163.2M), while the governor’s affordability initiative could complicate rate and merger reviews.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.7%

Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.43. 1,006,206 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,545,093. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.94 and a 200 day moving average of $39.31. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $36.32 and a 12-month high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 69.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WTRG. UBS Group set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Thursday. Argus upgraded Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $638,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,173,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 122.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,308,000 after acquiring an additional 519,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.