Essential Utilities, Inc. WTRG
At closeNov 3, 2026, 6:30 PM EST
After hours · Nov 3, 6:30 PM ET
- YTD
- +14.81%
- 1 year
- +15.65%
- Market cap
- 12.50B
- Revenue (ttm)
- 2.57B
- Profit margin
- 21.60%
- EPS (ttm)
- 1.96
- Shares out
- 283.78M
- P/E ratio
- 22.47
- Forward P/E
- 18.53
- Dividend
- 1.44 (3.25%)
- Ex-dividend date
- Nov 9, 2026
- YTD return
- +14.81%
- 1-year return
- +15.65%
- Volume
- 3.23M
- Avg volume
- 2.31M
- Open
- 44.10
- Previous close
- 44.44
- Day's range
- 43.32 – 44.55
- 52-week range
- 36.11 – 44.67
- Beta
- 0.61
- Analysts
- Hold
- Price target
- 41.20 (-6.4%)
- Earnings date
- Nov 3, 2026
6M +6.06 (+15.97%)
Key statistics
- Enterprise value
- 21.14B
- PEG ratio
- 3.97
- Price / sales
- 4.88
- Price / book
- 1.78
- Dividend yield
- 3.25%
- Payout ratio
- 69.92%
- Revenue growth
- 3.10%
- Free cash flow
- -657.63M
- Total cash
- 8.63M
- Total debt
- 8.54B
- Return on equity
- 8.08%
- Short % of float
- 3.00%
- 50-day average
- 40.83
- 200-day average
- 39.43
Analyst view
Consensus: hold
- Target (low)
- 38.00
- Target (mean)
- 41.20
- Target (high)
- 47.00
- Strong buy0
- Buy2
- Hold3
- Sell0
- Strong sell2
Next earnings
Nov 3, 2026
Expected Nov 3, 2026. Consensus EPS estimate 0.34452.
Financials — quick view
Earnings
| Report date | Quarter ending | EPS estimate | EPS reported | Surprise | Surprise % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 3, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | 0.3342 | — | — | — |
| Aug 4, 2026 | Jun 30, 2026 | 0.3713 | 0.38 | +0.01 | +2.34% |
| May 6, 2026 | Mar 31, 2026 | 0.905 | 0.83 | -0.08 | -8.29% |
| Feb 25, 2026 | Dec 31, 2025 | 0.36 | 0.47 | +0.11 | +30.56% |
| Nov 4, 2025 | Sep 30, 2025 | 0.2832 | 0.33 | +0.05 | +16.53% |
| Jul 31, 2025 | Jun 30, 2025 | 0.29 | 0.38 | +0.09 | +31.03% |
Upgrades / downgrades
| Date | Firm | Action | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 16, 2026 | UBS | main | Buy | Buy |
| Sep 10, 2026 | UBS | main | Buy | Buy |
| Jul 15, 2026 | Barclays | main | Underweight | Underweight |
| Jul 2, 2026 | UBS | main | Buy | Buy |
| May 29, 2026 | UBS | up | Neutral | Buy |
| Dec 17, 2025 | Barclays | down | Overweight | Underweight |
About Essential Utilities, Inc.
Essential Utilities, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, and natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water; and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It also provides utility service line protection solutions and repair services to households; gas marketing and production activities; and natural gas distribution services. The company serves approximately 5.5 million residential water, commercial water, fire protection, industrial water, wastewater, and other water and utility customers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, and Kentucky under the Aqua and Peoples brands. The company was formerly known as Aqua America, Inc. and changed its name to Essential Utilities, Inc. in February 2020. Essential Utilities, Inc. was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
- Sector
- Utilities
- Industry
- Utilities - Regulated Water
- Country
- United States
- Website
- essential.co
News
Essential Utilities Q3 EPS $0.36 Beats $0.34 Estimate, Sales $508.257M Beat $450.440M Estimate 
Essential Utilities Reports Solid Q3 2026 Results 
These 4 Boring Dividend Stocks Get Paid Every Time America Turns on the Tap 
4 Water Supply Stocks to Watch Amid Expanding Industry Opportunities 
Aristotle Small/Mid Cap Equity WM Q3 2026 Portfolio Activity 
Essential Utilities Declares December 2026 Dividend 
2,989,455 Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A. 
UBS Maintains Buy on Essential Utilities, Lowers Price Target to $47 
Essential Utilities’ Aqua Illinois Advances 14 Statewide Water And Wastewater Infrastructure Projects Representing Nearly $40M In Investment 
WTRG Unit Expands Water Operations With Lake Tamarack Acquisition
Your note
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Insider holders
| Insider | Relation | Latest transaction | Date | Shares held |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMATO ELIZABETH B. | Director | Stock Award(Grant) | Jun 22, 2026 | 26,636 |
| ARNOLD COLLEEN F | Officer | Sale | Aug 6, 2026 | 19,177 |
| CIESINSKI DAVID ALAN | Director | Stock Award(Grant) | Jun 22, 2026 | 16,800 |
| FRANKLIN CHRISTOPHER H | Chief Executive Officer | Stock Award(Grant) | Feb 16, 2026 | 338,088 |
| HILFERTY DANIEL J III | Director | Stock Award(Grant) | Jun 22, 2026 | 38,011 |
| HUWAR MICHAEL | Officer | Stock Award(Grant) | Feb 19, 2026 | 21,293 |
Institution ownership
| Holder | % held | Shares | Value | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackrock Inc. | 11.78% | 33,433,285 | 1.48B | Jun 29, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management LLC | 5.76% | 16,340,786 | 721.12M | Jun 29, 2026 |
| State Street Corporation | 4.62% | 13,119,170 | 578.95M | Jun 29, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management LLC | 4.50% | 12,782,196 | 564.08M | Jun 29, 2026 |
| NORGES BANK | 2.29% | 6,489,675 | 286.39M | Jun 29, 2026 |
| Geode Capital Management, LLC | 1.86% | 5,279,933 | 233.00M | Jun 29, 2026 |
Fund ownership
| Holder | % held | Shares | Value | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iShares Trust-iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF | 3.56% | 10,108,290 | 446.08M | Sep 29, 2026 |
| VANGUARD INDEX FUNDS-Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund | 3.17% | 9,003,658 | 397.33M | Jun 29, 2026 |
| VANGUARD INDEX FUNDS-Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund | 2.29% | 6,503,935 | 287.02M | Jun 29, 2026 |
| VANGUARD INDEX FUNDS-Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Fund | 1.45% | 4,120,544 | 181.84M | Jun 29, 2026 |
| VANGUARD INDEX FUNDS-Vanguard Extended Market Index Fund | 1.15% | 3,252,789 | 143.55M | Jun 29, 2026 |
| SPDR SERIES TRUST-State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF | 0.89% | 2,513,638 | 110.93M | Sep 29, 2026 |