A Business at a Glance
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Essential Utilities, Inc.
WTRG
$11.1B
Mkt Cap
$39.61
+0.05%
Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) has a current P/E ratio of 18.0, compared to its historical median P/E of 23.8. The stock is currently considered Fair based on its historical valuation range.
Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) has a 5-year average return on invested capital (ROIC) of 5.8%. This is below average and may indicate limited pricing power.
Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) has a market capitalization of $11.4B. It is classified as a large-cap stock.
Yes, Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) pays a dividend with a trailing twelve-month yield of 3.36%. The company also returns capital through share buybacks, with a buyback yield of 0.03%.
Based on historical P/E analysis, Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) appears fair. The current P/E of 18.0 is 24% below its historical median of 23.8. The estimated fair value CAGR (P/E method) is 13.1%.
Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) operates in the Water Supply industry, within the Utilities sector.
Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) reported annual revenue of $2.5 billion in its most recent fiscal year, based on SEC EDGAR filings.
Essential Utilities is a regulated utility holding company providing water, wastewater, and natural gas services to approximately 5.5 million people across nine states (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, and Kentucky) through its Aqua and Peoples brands. The Regulated Water segment, which comprises approximately 54% of operating revenues, operates through eight state-based subsidiaries with Aqua Pennsylvania as the largest, serving suburban areas north and west of Philadelphia and 28 other Pennsylvania counties plus operations in seven additional states; the Regulated Natural Gas segment, representing approximately 45% of revenues, operates through Peoples subsidiaries serving approximately 747,000 customers, with 95% concentrated in western Pennsylvania and Kentucky. The company's business model is built on regulated utility operations with rate-base growth driven by infrastructure investments in water treatment, wastewater collection, natural gas distribution, and aging pipeline replacement, supplemented by non-regulated market-based activities including utility service line protection solutions and gas marketing. Essential pursues growth through acquisitions of regulated water and wastewater utilities and opportunistic infrastructure ventures complementary to its core water business, with a pending merger agreement to be acquired by American Water Works Company expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2027.
【Infrastructure investment acceleration】 Management expects to achieve full-year capital investment targets of $1.7 billion in 2025 and $1.7 billion in 2026, with the combined utility rate base projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of approximately 8% through 2029, driven by water segment growth of about 6% and natural gas segment growth of about 11%. The company is executing on multiple small system acquisitions in Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, and New Jersey, with signed purchase agreements adding approximately 201,000 customers at a purchase price of approximately $285 million, many expected to close in 2026. Management is advancing strategic infrastructure projects including an 18 million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant for a data center project expected to be fully operational in 2029, while continuing multi-year PFAS remediation efforts across water systems and aging pipeline replacement programs. The company remains focused on operational excellence metrics, with plans to install at least 80,000 Intelis meters in 2026, and expects to maintain strong dividend growth while keeping the payout ratio between 60% and 65%.
| Metric | Target | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Earnings per share (EPS) growth | 5%-7% CAGR | Through 2027 |
| Capital investment | $1.7 billion | 2025 |
| Capital investment | $1.7 billion | 2026 |
| Combined utility rate base growth | ~8% CAGR | Through 2029 |
| Regulated water segment rate base growth | ~6% | Through 2029 |
| Regulated natural gas segment rate base growth | ~11% | Through 2029 |
| Intelis meter installations | At least 80,000 | 2026 |
Earnings per share (EPS) growth (Through 2027): “we are reaffirming our 5%-7% multiyear earnings per share guidance through 2027. Upon announcement of the transaction with American Water, we informed investors that we would continue growing EPS by 5%-7% annually using our adjusted 2024 earnings per share of $1.97 as the base.”
Capital investment (2025): “For the full year, though, we expect to achieve our capital targets for both water and gas, totaling $1.7 billion.”
Capital investment (2026): “In 2026, regulated infrastructure investments are expected to be $1.7 billion.”
Generated solely from the company's own reports listed below — not from third-party data. Hallucination risk is low. · Sources: 10-K, Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call, Q3 FY2025 Earnings Call, Q2 FY2025 Earnings Call, Q1 FY2025 Earnings Call
| Metric | TTM | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2.6B | 2.5B | 2.1B | 2.1B | 2.3B | 1.9B |
| Net Income | 557M | 616M | 595M | 498M | 465M | 432M |
| EPS | $1.95 | $2.20 | $2.17 | $1.86 | $1.77 | $1.67 |
| Free Cash Flow | 804M | 865M | 635M | 831M | 498M | 549M |
| ROIC | 5.7% | 6.4% | 5.7% | 5.6% | 5.7% | 5.7% |
| Gross Margin | - | 67.4% | 68.5% | 64.2% | 53.3% | 59.0% |
| Debt/Equity | 1.18 | 1.18 | 1.22 | 1.16 | 1.26 | 1.15 |
| Dividends/Share | $1.33 | $1.34 | $1.26 | $1.18 | $1.10 | $1.04 |
| Operating Income | 893M | 921M | 758M | 692M | 661M | 603M |
| Operating Margin | 35.0% | 37.2% | 36.3% | 33.7% | 28.9% | 32.1% |
| ROE | 8.1% | 9.4% | 9.8% | 8.8% | 8.8% | 8.7% |
| Shares Outstanding | 287M | 280M | 274M | 268M | 263M | 258M |
| Metric | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income Statement | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | 780M | 814M | 820M | 810M | 838M | 890M | 1.5B | 1.9B | 2.3B | 2.1B | 2.1B | 2.5B | 2.6B |
| Gross Margin | 66.3% | 64.6% | 66.7% | 69.1% | 67.9% | 69.9% | 60.2% | 59.0% | 53.3% | 64.2% | 68.5% | 67.4% | N/A |
| R&D | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| SG&A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| EBIT | 314M | 321M | 333M | 334M | 323M | 340M | 435M | 603M | 661M | 692M | 758M | 921M | 893M |
| Op. Margin | 40.3% | 39.4% | 40.7% | 41.2% | 38.6% | 38.2% | 29.7% | 32.1% | 28.9% | 33.7% | 36.3% | 37.2% | 35.0% |
| Net Income | 233M | 202M | 234M | 240M | 192M | 225M | 285M | 432M | 465M | 498M | 595M | 616M | 557M |
| Net Margin | 29.9% | 24.8% | 28.6% | 29.6% | 22.9% | 25.2% | 19.5% | 23.0% | 20.3% | 24.3% | 28.5% | 24.9% | 21.8% |
| Non-Recurring | 0 | 0 | 744K | -774K | 0 | 405K | 0 | 1.6M | 991K | 65K | 92M | 1.3M | 1.3M |
| Returns on Capital | |||||||||||||
| ROIC | 8.9% | 8.9% | 8.5% | 8.0% | 7.5% | 7.1% | 5.7% | 5.7% | 5.7% | 5.6% | 5.7% | 6.4% | 5.7% |
| ROE | 14.6% | 11.9% | 13.1% | 12.6% | 9.7% | 7.6% | 6.7% | 8.7% | 8.8% | 8.8% | 9.8% | 9.4% | 8.1% |
| ROA | 4.5% | 3.6% | 3.9% | 3.8% | 2.9% | 2.8% | 2.5% | 3.0% | 3.1% | 3.1% | 3.4% | 3.3% | 2.8% |
| Cash Flow | |||||||||||||
| Op. Cash Flow | 365M | 371M | 396M | 381M | 369M | 339M | 508M | 645M | 600M | 934M | 770M | 1.0B | 976M |
| Free Cash Flow | 36M | 6.1M | 13M | -97M | -127M | 278M | 409M | 549M | 498M | 831M | 635M | 865M | 804M |
| Owner Earnings | 232M | 236M | 258M | 238M | 214M | 175M | 243M | 337M | 267M | 579M | 391M | 580M | 535M |
| CapEx | 329M | 365M | 383M | 478M | 496M | 61M | 99M | 96M | 102M | 103M | 135M | 145M | 173M |
| Maint. CapEx | 127M | 129M | 133M | 137M | 147M | 156M | 257M | 298M | 321M | 344M | 370M | 417M | 429M |
| Growth CapEx | 202M | 236M | 250M | 341M | 349M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D&A | 127M | 129M | 133M | 137M | 147M | 156M | 257M | 298M | 321M | 344M | 370M | 417M | 429M |
| CapEx/OCF | 90.3% | 98.4% | 96.7% | 125.4% | 17.7% | 17.9% | 19.4% | 14.9% | 17.0% | 11.0% | 17.6% | 14.3% | 17.7% |
| Capital Allocation | |||||||||||||
| Dividends Paid | 112M | 121M | 131M | 141M | 151M | 189M | 233M | 259M | 289M | 317M | 346M | 374M | 381M |
| Dividend Yield | 3.5% | 3.4% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 2.6% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 2.6% | 3.2% | 3.5% | 3.6% | 3.4% |
| Share Buybacks | 16M | 25M | 3.0M | 2.2M | 2.6M | 1.9M | 4.4M | 3.3M | 1.2M | 4.0M | 4.0M | 2.3M | 3.0M |
| Buyback Yield | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Stock-Based Comp | 6.8M | 5.9M | 5.4M | 6.3M | 7.6M | 7.4M | 8.2M | 10M | 12M | 11M | 9.8M | 13M | 13M |
| Debt Repayment | 253M | 400M | 373M | 359M | 914M | 1.0B | 1.8B | 770M | 977M | 876M | 1.0B | 36M | 36M |
| Balance Sheet | |||||||||||||
| Net Debt | 1.6B | 1.8B | 1.9B | 2.1B | 2.6B | 1.2B | 5.5B | 5.9B | 6.7B | 6.9B | 7.6B | 8.1B | 8.1B |
| Cash & Equiv. | 4.1M | 3.2M | 3.8M | 4.2M | 3.6M | 1.9B | 4.8M | 11M | 11M | 4.6M | 9.2M | 35M | 76M |
| Long-Term Debt | 1.6B | 1.7B | 1.7B | 2.0B | 2.4B | 2.9B | 5.5B | 5.8B | 6.4B | 6.8B | 7.4B | 8.1B | 8.4B |
| Debt/Equity | 0.97 | 1.02 | 1.02 | 1.08 | 1.27 | 0.79 | 1.18 | 1.15 | 1.26 | 1.16 | 1.22 | 1.18 | 1.18 |
| Interest Coverage | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.7 |
| Equity | 1.7B | 1.7B | 1.9B | 2.0B | 2.0B | 3.9B | 4.7B | 5.2B | 5.4B | 5.9B | 6.2B | 6.9B | 6.9B |
| Total Assets | 5.4B | 5.7B | 6.2B | 6.3B | 7.0B | 9.4B | 13.7B | 14.7B | 15.7B | 16.8B | 18.0B | 19.5B | 19.8B |
| Total Liabilities | 1.2B | 1.3B | 1.4B | 885M | 955M | 1.0B | 1.6B | 1.7B | 1.7B | 2.1B | 2.3B | 2.5B | -80M |
| Intangibles | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7.2M | 5.8M | 4.6M | 3.6M | 3.3M | 3.0M | 2.9M |
| Retained Earnings | 850M | 930M | 1.0B | 1.1B | 1.2B | 1.2B | 1.3B | 1.4B | 1.5B | 1.7B | 1.9B | 2.3B | 2.3B |
| Working Capital | -73M | -65M | -173M | -153M | -252M | 1.7B | -224M | -237M | -364M | -306M | -489M | -154M | -32M |
| Current Assets | 153M | 128M | 129M | 131M | 147M | 2.0B | 380M | 438M | 658M | 492M | 486M | 610M | 623M |
| Current Liabilities | 225M | 193M | 302M | 284M | 399M | 323M | 604M | 675M | 1.0B | 798M | 975M | 764M | 654M |
| Per Share Data | |||||||||||||
| EPS | 1.31 | 1.14 | 1.32 | 1.35 | 1.08 | 1.04 | 1.12 | 1.67 | 1.77 | 1.86 | 2.17 | 2.20 | 1.95 |
| Owner EPS | 1.30 | 1.33 | 1.45 | 1.34 | 1.21 | 0.81 | 0.95 | 1.30 | 1.02 | 2.16 | 1.43 | 2.07 | 1.86 |
| Book Value | 9.30 | 9.75 | 10.43 | 11.02 | 11.30 | 17.97 | 18.42 | 20.06 | 20.46 | 22.01 | 22.60 | 24.48 | 24.03 |
| Cash Flow/Share | 2.05 | 2.09 | 2.23 | 2.15 | 2.07 | 1.57 | 2.00 | 2.49 | 2.28 | 3.49 | 2.81 | 3.61 | 3.44 |
| Dividends/Share | 0.63 | 0.69 | 0.74 | 0.79 | 0.85 | 0.91 | 0.97 | 1.04 | 1.10 | 1.18 | 1.26 | 1.34 | 1.33 |
| Shares Out. | 178.0M | 177.0M | 177.4M | 177.6M | 177.8M | 215.9M | 254.3M | 258.5M | 262.8M | 267.9M | 274.3M | 280.2M | 286.9M |
| Valuation | |||||||||||||
| P/E Ratio | 15.3 | 20.3 | 17.6 | 23.3 | 25.7 | 37.7 | 35.3 | 27.8 | 24.3 | 18.7 | 16.1 | 17.4 | 20.3 |
| P/FCF | 98.1 | 671.7 | 313.7 | N/A | N/A | 30.5 | 24.6 | 21.9 | 22.7 | 11.2 | 15.1 | 12.4 | 14.1 |
| EV/EBIT | 16.6 | 18.3 | 18.9 | 23.4 | 23.6 | 28.7 | 36.2 | 29.9 | 27.3 | 23.5 | 22.7 | 20.4 | 21.8 |
| Price/Book | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Price/Sales | 4.2 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 8.2 | 6.5 | 5.6 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
| FCF Yield | 1.0% | 0.1% | 0.3% | -1.7% | -2.6% | 3.3% | 4.1% | 4.6% | 4.4% | 8.9% | 6.6% | 8.1% | 7.1% |
| Market Cap | 3.6B | 4.1B | 4.1B | 5.6B | 4.9B | 8.5B | 10.1B | 12.0B | 11.3B | 9.3B | 9.6B | 10.7B | 11.4B |
| Avg. Price | 18.25 | 20.20 | 24.29 | 26.39 | 28.56 | 33.66 | 37.49 | 40.96 | 41.89 | 36.64 | 35.69 | 37.30 | 39.61 |
| Year-End Price | 19.99 | 23.17 | 23.28 | 31.51 | 27.77 | 39.25 | 39.54 | 46.48 | 43.00 | 34.83 | 34.87 | 38.22 | 39.61 |
Essential Utilities, Inc. passes 5 of 9 quality checks, suggesting mixed fundamentals.
Essential Utilities, Inc. trades at 18.0x trailing earnings, compared to its 15-year median P/E of 23.8x, suggesting it is currently Fair relative to its historical range. On a free-cash-flow basis, the stock trades at 13.0x vs a median of 21.9x. The company's 5-year average ROIC is 5.8% with a gross margin of 62.5%. Total shareholder yield (dividends) is 3.4%. At current prices, the estimated annualized return to fair value is +11.9%.
Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) has a net profit margin of 24.9%. This is a strong margin indicating high profitability.
Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) generated $865 million in free cash flow in its most recent fiscal year. Positive free cash flow supports dividends, buybacks, and debt reduction.
Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. This indicates moderate leverage.
Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.20 in its most recent fiscal year.
Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) has a return on equity (ROE) of 9.4%. This indicates moderate shareholder returns.
Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) has a 5-year average gross margin of 62.5%. This high margin suggests strong pricing power and a potential competitive moat.
The Ledger Terminal provides 16 years of financial data for Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG), sourced directly from SEC EDGAR filings. This includes income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and key financial ratios.
Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) has a book value per share of $24.48, based on its most recent annual SEC filing.
Based on recent SEC filings and earnings disclosures, Management expects to achieve full-year capital investment targets of $1.7 billion in 2025 and $1.7 billion in 2026, with the combined utility rate base projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of approximately 8% through 2029, driven by water segment growth of about 6% and natural gas segment growth of about 11%. The company is executing on multiple small system acquisitions in Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, and New Jersey, with signed purchase agreements adding approximately 201,000 customers at a purchase price of approximately $285 million, many expected to close in 2026. Management is advancing strategic infrastructure projects including an 18 million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant for a data center project expected to be fully operational in 2029, while continuing multi-year PFAS remediation efforts across water systems and aging pipeline replacement programs. The company remains focused on operational excellence metrics, with plans to install at least 80,000 Intelis meters in 2026, and expects to maintain strong dividend growth while keeping the payout ratio between 60% and 65%.
Based on recent SEC filings and earnings calls, Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) has provided the following forward guidance: Earnings per share (EPS) growth: 5%-7% CAGR (Through 2027); Capital investment: $1.7 billion (2025); Capital investment: $1.7 billion (2026); Combined utility rate base growth: ~8% CAGR (Through 2029); Regulated water segment rate base growth: ~6% (Through 2029), plus 2 additional metrics.
Combined utility rate base growth (Through 2029): “We expect our combined utility rate base to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 8%.”
Regulated water segment rate base growth (Through 2029): “the regulated water segment is expected to grow at about 6%”
Regulated natural gas segment rate base growth (Through 2029): “our regulated natural gas segment rate base will grow at about 11%”
Intelis meter installations (2026): “this year we have a target to install at least 80,000 more”