In stark contrast to the market's 6.1% return, Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE: NYSE:WTRG) has seen a significant 25% plunge in its share price over the past year, reflecting the volatility of individual stocks against index fund investments. This marked downturn is part of a longer-term trend for the company, which has experienced a 20% depreciation in its stock over the past three years.
Today, Essential Utilities' shares continue to struggle with a sharp 20% quarterly decline amidst an overall market downturn of 11%. This downward trajectory is notable given the company's improved earnings per share (EPS), indicating that prior market expectations may have been overly optimistic.
Despite the company's positive revenue development, this hasn't been mirrored in its share price, suggesting a shift in market sentiment towards Essential Utilities. The disparity between the firm's financial performance and its stock value highlights the disconnect that can sometimes occur between a company's underlying business health and its stock market performance.
InvestingPro Insights
Examining real-time data from InvestingPro, Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE: WTRG) has a market capitalization of $8770M and a P/E ratio of 18.81. Its revenue for the last twelve months as of Q2 2023 was $2303.15M USD, with a growth rate of 12.59%. However, this growth has slowed down to -2.69% in Q2 2023.
Two key InvestingPro Tips that are particularly relevant to Essential Utilities are its consistently increasing earnings per share and the fact that it has maintained dividend payments for 53 consecutive years. This is reflected in the company's dividend yield of 3.69% as of 2023. These insights suggest that despite the recent share price volatility, the company's underlying financial health remains strong.
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