WTRG Stock Analysis: Essential Utilities | NYSE

Utilities - Regulated Water | NYSE, USA | Market Cap: 10.928m USD | 12M Return: 5.7% | Charts, Fundamentals & Technical Analysis

Water, Wastewater, Natural Gas, Utility Services
Total Rating 33
Safety 62
Buy Signal -0.46
Utilities - Regulated Water
Industry Rotation: +3.2
Market Cap: 10.9B
Avg Turnover: 78.2M
Risk 3d forecast
Volatility21.6%
VaR 5th Pctl3.77%
VaR vs Median5.96%
Reward TTM
Sharpe Ratio0.20
Rel. Str. IBD27.2
Rel. Str. Peer Group38.9
Character TTM
Beta-0.295
Beta Downside-0.159
Hurst Exponent0.370
Drawdowns 3y
Max DD23.80%
CAGR/Max DD0.05
CAGR/Mean DD0.15
EPS (Earnings per Share) EPS (Earnings per Share) of WTRG over the last years for every Quarter: "2021-06": 0.32, "2021-09": 0.19, "2021-12": 0.44, "2022-03": 0.76, "2022-06": 0.31, "2022-09": 0.26, "2022-12": 0.44, "2023-03": 0.72, "2023-06": 0.34, "2023-09": 0.3, "2023-12": 0.5, "2024-03": 0.97, "2024-06": 0.28, "2024-09": 0.25, "2024-12": 0.47, "2025-03": 1.03, "2025-06": 0.38, "2025-09": 0.33, "2025-12": 0.47, "2026-03": 0.83,
EPS CAGR: 6.52%
EPS Trend: 76.8%
Last SUE: -0.29
Qual. Beats: 0
Revenue Revenue of WTRG over the last years for every Quarter: 2021-06: 397.032, 2021-09: 361.86, 2021-12: 535.687, 2022-03: 699.275, 2022-06: 448.756, 2022-09: 434.618, 2022-12: 705.383, 2023-03: 726.45, 2023-06: 436.7, 2023-09: 411.255, 2023-12: 479.419, 2024-03: 612.069, 2024-06: 434.406, 2024-09: 435.255, 2024-12: 604.383, 2025-03: 783.626, 2025-06: 514.907, 2025-09: 476.971, 2025-12: 699.111, 2026-03: 861.759,
Rev. CAGR: 6.28%
Rev. Trend: 56.9%
Last SUE: 0.72
Qual. Beats: 0

Warnings

High Debt While Negative Cash Flow
Fakeout

Tailwinds

No distinct edge detected

Seasonality 10.5 years of data

Jan -1.2% 19
Feb -2.3% 0
Mar +1.7% 29
Apr +1.4% 27
May -0.7% 14
Jun +0.1% 13
Jul +5.2% 41
Aug -0.6% 30
Sep -2.0% 46
Oct +0.1% 8
Nov +5.7% 45
Dec +1.7% 19

How good or bad each month usually is (without trend). The score below shows how much you can trust it: 0 = pure chance, >40 gets interesting and >55 is strong.

Description: WTRG Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE: WTRG) is a U.S.-based regulated utility holding company that provides water, wastewater, and natural gas services through two reportable segments: Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas. Beyond its core utility operations, the company offers utility service line protection and repair programs to households, along with gas marketing, production, and natural gas distribution services.

The company serves approximately 5.5 million customers across nine states - Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, and Kentucky - operating under the Aqua and Peoples brands. Originally founded in 1886 as Aqua America, the company rebranded to Essential Utilities, Inc. in February 2020 and is headquartered in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

As a regulated water and natural gas utility, Essential Utilities operates within a rate-regulated business model, where revenues and authorized returns on infrastructure investments are typically determined through state public utility commission proceedings. The U.S. water utility sector is highly fragmented, which has historically supported consolidation strategies pursued by larger operators seeking scale efficiencies across multi-state service territories.

Headlines to Watch Out For
  • Multi-state rate case decisions drive regulated water segment margins
  • Capital expenditure accelerates rate base growth across nine states
  • Municipal water acquisitions expand customer base to 5.5 million
Piotroski VR-10 (Strict) 2.0
Net Income: 557.0m TTM > 0 and > 6% of Revenue
FCF/TA: -0.03 > 0.02 and ΔFCF/TA 0.26 > 1.0
NWC/Revenue: -1.25% < 20% (prev -11.61%; Δ 10.36% < -1%)
CFO/TA 0.05 > 3% & CFO 976.3m > Net Income 557.0m
Net Debt (8.39b) to EBITDA (1.35b): 6.21 < 3
Current Ratio: 0.95 > 1.5 & < 3
Outstanding Shares: last quarter (283.6m) vs 12m ago 2.88% < -2%
Gross Margin: 46.96% > 18% (prev 59.24%; Δ -12.28% > 0.5%)
Asset Turnover: 13.40% > 50% (prev 12.32%; Δ 1.08% > 0%)
Interest Coverage Ratio: 2.76 > 6 (EBIT TTM 921.7m / Interest Expense TTM 334.3m)
Altman Z'' 1.26
A: -0.00 (Total Current Assets 622.6m - Total Current Liabilities 654.4m) / Total Assets 19.8b
B: 0.12 (Retained Earnings 2.31b / Total Assets 19.8b)
C: 0.05 (EBIT TTM 921.7m / Avg Total Assets 19.1b)
D: 0.53 (Book Value of Equity 6.89b / Total Liabilities 12.9b)
Altman-Z'' = 1.26 = BB
Beneish M -2.69
DSRI: 1.03 (Receivables 418.5m/360.4m, Revenue 2.55b/2.26b)
GMI: 1.26 (GM 59.24% / 46.96%)
AQI: 0.97 (AQ_t 0.24 / AQ_t-1 0.24)
SGI: 1.13 (Revenue 2.55b / 2.26b)
TATA: -0.02 (NI 557.0m - CFO 976.3m) / TA 19.8b)
Beneish M = -2.69 (Cap -4..+1) = A
What is the price of WTRG shares?

As of July 13, 2026, the stock is trading at USD 38.58 with a total of 1,302,594 shares traded. Over the past week, the price has changed by -2.03%, over one month by +2.85%, over three months by -1.65% and over the past year by +5.66%.

Current recommended Stop Loss: 37.30 (which is 3.3% or 1.4 ATR below the current price).

Is WTRG a buy, sell or hold?

Essential Utilities has received a consensus analysts rating of 4.55. Therefore, it is recommended to buy WTRG.

  • StrongBuy: 8
  • Buy: 1
  • Hold: 2
  • Sell: 0
  • StrongSell: 0

What are the forecasts/targets for the WTRG price?
Analysts Target Price 41.2 6.8%
Essential Utilities (WTRG) - Fundamental Data Overview as of 11 July 2026
Market Cap USD = 10.9b (10.9b USD * 1.0 USD.USD)
P/E Trailing = 19.759
P/E Forward = 17.2414
P/S = 4.281
P/B = 1.5948
P/EG = 3.6888
Revenue TTM = 2.55b USD
EBIT TTM = 921.7m USD
EBITDA TTM = 1.35b USD
Long Term Debt = 8.36b USD (from longTermDebt, last quarter)
Short Term Debt = 62.1m USD (from shortTermDebt, last quarter)
Debt = 8.46b USD (from shortLongTermDebtTotal, last quarter) + Leases 20.1m
Net Debt = 8.39b USD (calculated: Debt 8.46b - CCE 75.9m)
Enterprise Value = 19.3b USD (10.9b + Debt 8.46b - CCE 75.9m)
Interest Coverage Ratio = 2.76 (Ebit TTM 921.7m / Interest Expense TTM 334.3m)
EV/FCF = -38.10x (Enterprise Value 19.3b / FCF TTM -507.0m)
FCF Yield = -2.62% (FCF TTM -507.0m / Enterprise Value 19.3b)
FCF Margin = -19.86% (FCF TTM -507.0m / Revenue TTM 2.55b)
Net Margin = 21.82% (Net Income TTM 557.0m / Revenue TTM 2.55b)
Gross Margin = 46.96% ((Revenue TTM 2.55b - Cost of Revenue TTM 1.35b) / Revenue TTM)
Gross Margin QoQ = 39.06% (prev 35.97%)
Tobins Q-Ratio = 0.98 (Enterprise Value 19.3b / Total Assets 19.8b)
Interest Expense / Debt = 3.95% (Interest Expense 334.3m / Debt 8.46b)
Taxrate = 5.18% (30.4m / 587.4m)
NOPAT = 874.0m (EBIT 921.7m * (1 - 5.18%))
Current Ratio = 0.95 (Total Current Assets 622.6m / Total Current Liabilities 654.4m)
Debt / Equity = 1.23 (Debt 8.46b / totalStockholderEquity, last quarter 6.89b)
Debt / EBITDA = 6.21 (Net Debt 8.39b / EBITDA 1.35b)
 Debt / FCF = -16.54 (negative FCF - burning cash) (Net Debt 8.39b / FCF TTM -507.0m)
 Total Stockholder Equity = 6.82b (last 4 quarters mean from totalStockholderEquity)
RoA = 2.92% (Net Income 557.0m / Total Assets 19.8b)
RoE = 8.16% (Net Income TTM 557.0m / Total Stockholder Equity 6.82b)
RoCE = 6.07% (EBIT 921.7m / Capital Employed (Equity 6.82b + L.T.Debt 8.36b))
RoIC = 4.57% (NOPAT 874.0m / Invested Capital 19.1b)
WACC = 4.42% (E(10.9b)/V(19.4b) * Re(4.94%) + D(8.46b)/V(19.4b) * Rd(3.95%) * (1-Tc(0.05)))
Discount Rate = 4.94% (= CAPM, Blume Beta Adj.)
Shares (quarterly) Correlation: 100.00 | Cagr: 1.62%
 [DCF] Fair Price = unknown (Cash Flow -507.0m)
 EPS Correlation: 76.84 | EPS CAGR: 6.52% | SUE: -0.29 | # QB: 0
Revenue Correlation: 56.86 | Revenue CAGR: 6.28% | SUE: 0.72 | # QB: 0
EPS current Quarter (2026-06-30): EPS=0.41 | Chg30d=+0.00% | Revisions=+25% | Analysts=3
EPS next Quarter (2026-09-30): EPS=0.35 | Chg30d=+0.00% | Revisions=+25% | Analysts=3
EPS current Year (2026-12-31): EPS=2.24 | Chg30d=+0.42% | Revisions=-40% | GrowthEPS=+2.0% | GrowthRev=+2.5%
EPS next Year (2027-12-31): EPS=2.38 | Chg30d=-0.78% | Revisions=-25% | GrowthEPS=+6.0% | GrowthRev=+6.1%
[Analyst] Revisions Ratio: -12% (up=2, down=3)