Essential Utilities (WTRG)
Utilities · Regulated water, wastewater, and natural gas utilities
A regulated utility holding company providing water, wastewater, and natural gas services to 5.5 million people across nine states, pending acquisition by American Water.
What Essential Utilities does
Essential Utilities is a holding company for regulated water, wastewater, and natural gas utilities operating under the Aqua and Peoples brands across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, and Kentucky. The company serves approximately 5.5 million people through its major subsidiary Aqua Pennsylvania (which accounts for ~57% of regulated water revenues) and Peoples natural gas subsidiaries (serving ~747,000 customers, mostly in western Pennsylvania). Essential also operates non-regulated market-based activities including utility service line protection solutions, repair services, and gas marketing. The company is currently pending acquisition by American Water Works Company.
Themes: ["Water utility regulation and rate recovery","Wastewater treatment and management","Natural gas utility distribution","Utility infrastructure and replacement","Non-regulated service line protection","Water/natural gas acquisitions and consolidation"]
Fundamentals
- Price$38.39 as of 2026-07-09 close
- Market cap$11.1B as of 2026-07-09
- 1-year return+4.5% as of 2026-07-09 close
- P/E20.02 as of 2026-07-09
- Net margin+21.8% as of 2026-07-09
- Gross margin+49.3% as of 2026-07-09
- ROE+8.2% as of 2026-07-09
- Debt / equity1.22 as of 2026-07-09
- Revenue growth (YoY)+13.1% as of 2026-07-09
- Revenue CAGR (3y)+2.6% SEC XBRL
- Beta0.64 as of 2026-07-09
Dividend: yield +3.6%; 5-year non-decreasing per-share dividend streak (SEC XBRL).
Key risks (from latest filing)
["Proposed merger with American Water is subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance and public utility commission approvals, with closing estimated by Q1 2027; failure to close would create significant strategic and market uncertainty.","Rate increases depend on regulatory decisions and timely rate requests; conservation awareness and efficient fixtures reduce per-customer water and gas usage, constraining revenue growth.","Regulatory compliance, cybersecurity threats, and environmental regulations (including water quality standards) pose operational and financial risks."]
Fundamentals: Finnhub, as of 2026-07-09. Filings: SEC EDGAR. Prices are delayed daily-close data.
Last updated 2026-07-09.
Informational only — NOT financial advice. All figures are delayed daily-close data from SEC EDGAR & Finnhub, shown with their as-of date.