Essential Utilities Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.34 (NYSE:WTRG)

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.3426 per share on Monday, March 2nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th.Get Essential Utilities alerts:Overlooked Analyst-Approved Dividend Plays You Can Count OnEssential Utilities has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 32 consecutive years. Essential Utilities has a payout ratio of 61.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Essential Utilities to earn $2.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.37 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 64.3%. Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.6%NYSE:WTRG opened at $37.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. Essential Utilities has a one year low of $34.58 and a one year high of $42.37. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $38.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.88. The stock has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.81. Top 3 Stocks to Outperform the S&P 500 in a DownturnEssential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 28.09%.The firm had revenue of $476.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $472.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. Essential Utilities's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Essential Utilities Company Profile (Get Free Report)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.Read MoreFive stocks we like better than Essential UtilitiesNEW LAW: Congress Approves Setup For Digital Dollar?The day the gold market brokeWhat a Former CIA Agent Knows About the Coming CollapseYour Bank Account Is No Longer SafeNew gold price targetThis instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.Should You Invest $1,000 in Essential Utilities Right Now?Before you consider Essential Utilities, you'll want to hear this.MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Essential Utilities wasn't on the list.While Essential Utilities currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.View The Five Stocks Here