Trending NewsTrending NewsTop-Rated Dividend StocksTop-Rated DividendNYSE:WTRG Essential Utilities (WTRG) Stock Price, News & Analysis $38.22 +1.42 (+3.86%) Closing price 08/1/2025 03:59 PM EasternExtended Trading$38.18 -0.04 (-0.10%) As of 08/1/2025 06:40 PM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Add Compare Share Share Stock Analysis Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsDividendEarningsFinancialsHeadlinesInsider TradesOptions ChainOwnershipSEC FilingsShort InterestSustainabilityTrendsBuy This Stock About Essential Utilities Stock (NYSE:WTRG) 30 days 90 days 365 days Advanced Chart View Price History Chart DataSkip Price History Chart Get Essential Utilities alerts:Sign Up Key Stats Today's Range$37.07▼$38.3150-Day Range$36.71▼$38.8752-Week Range$33.18▼$41.78Volume2.42 million shsAverage Volume1.64 million shsMarket Capitalization$10.71 billionP/E Ratio16.40Dividend Yield3.40%Price Target$43.50Consensus RatingModerate Buy Company Overview Essential Utilities, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, or natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It offers water services through operating and maintenance contract with municipal authorities and other parties. In addition, the company provides utility service line protection solutions and repair services to households. It 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. Read More Essential Utilities Stock Analysis - MarketRank™See Top-Rated MarketRank™ Stocks96th Percentile Overall ScoreWTRG MarketRank™: Essential Utilities scored higher than 96% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 5th out of 97 stocks in the utilities sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation. Analyst's Opinion2.4 / 5Analyst RatingModerate Buy Consensus RatingEssential Utilities has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.83, and is based on 5 buy ratings, 1 hold rating, and no sell ratings.Amount of Analyst CoverageEssential Utilities has only been the subject of 1 research reports in the past 90 days.Read more about Essential Utilities' stock forecast and price target. Earnings and Valuation2.5 / 5Proj. Earnings Growth7.04% Earnings GrowthEarnings for Essential Utilities are expected to grow by 7.04% in the coming year, from $1.99 to $2.13 per share.Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the MarketThe P/E ratio of Essential Utilities is 16.40, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 28.11.Price to Earnings Ratio vs. SectorThe P/E ratio of Essential Utilities is 16.40, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Utilities sector average P/E ratio of about 19.94.Price to Earnings Growth RatioEssential Utilities has a PEG Ratio of 3.38. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.Price to Book Value per Share RatioEssential Utilities has a P/B Ratio of 1.69. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities. Short Interest3.0 / 5Short Interest LevelHealthy Percentage of Shares Shorted1.68% of the outstanding shares of Essential Utilities have been sold short.Short Interest Ratio / Days to CoverEssential Utilities has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.8, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.Change versus previous monthShort interest in Essential Utilities has recently increased by 21,361.19%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly. Dividend5.0 / 5Dividend StrengthStrong Dividend LeadershipEssential Utilities is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 3.54%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.Dividend GrowthEssential Utilities has been increasing its dividend for 32 years.Dividend CoverageThe dividend payout ratio of Essential Utilities is 58.30%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.Dividend SustainabilityBased on earnings estimates, Essential Utilities will have a dividend payout ratio of 61.03% next year. This indicates that Essential Utilities will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.Read more about Essential Utilities' dividend. Sustainability and ESG3.1 / 5Environmental Score-2.18 Percentage of Shares Shorted1.68% of the outstanding shares of Essential Utilities have been sold short.Short Interest Ratio / Days to CoverEssential Utilities has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.8, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.Change versus previous monthShort interest in Essential Utilities has recently increased by 21,361.19%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly. News and Social Media3.9 / 5News Sentiment1.03 News SentimentEssential Utilities has a news sentiment score of 1.03. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.68 average news sentiment score of Utilities companies.News Coverage This WeekMarketBeat has tracked 21 news articles for Essential Utilities this week, compared to 9 articles on an average week.Search Interest8 people have searched for WTRG on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 700% compared to the previous 30 days.MarketBeat Follows3 people have added Essential Utilities to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 50% compared to the previous 30 days. Company Ownership1.7 / 5Insider TradingN/A Insider Buying vs. Insider SellingIn the past three months, Essential Utilities insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.Percentage Held by InsidersOnly 0.21% of the stock of Essential Utilities is held by insiders.Percentage Held by Institutions74.78% of the stock of Essential Utilities is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.Read more about Essential Utilities' insider trading history. Receive WTRG Stock News and Ratings via Email Sign-up to receive the latest news and ratings for Essential Utilities and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter. Email Address WTRG Stock News HeadlinesEssential Utilities (WTRG) Q2 EPS Up 36%August 2 at 2:31 AM | fool.comEssential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) Q2 2025 Earnings Call TranscriptAugust 1 at 3:11 PM | seekingalpha.comThe $7 company helping Nvidia build the world’s first trillion-dollar robot …Michael Robinson has been at the forefront of the technology market for over 40 years. Spotting some profitable trends in tech … well ahead of Wall Street. Like when he called Nvidia at a mere 80 cents a share. Or Bitcoin when it was trading for just $300. Throughout his illustrious career … Michael has given his followers almost 150 different chances to register triple-digit gains.August 2 at 2:00 AM | Weiss Ratings (Ad)What is Seaport Res Ptn's Estimate for WTRG FY2025 Earnings?August 1 at 2:15 AM | americanbankingnews.comEssential Utilities Reports Strong Second Quarter 2025 ResultsJuly 31 at 5:23 PM | businesswire.comEssential Utilities Announces Dividend IncreaseJuly 31 at 5:52 AM | finance.yahoo.comEssential Utilities Finalizes $37.75M Acquisition of Beaver Falls Wastewater SystemJuly 28, 2025 | msn.comEssential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street ZenJuly 28, 2025 | americanbankingnews.comSee More Headlines WTRG Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions How have WTRG shares performed this year? Essential Utilities' stock was trading at $36.32 at the start of the year. Since then, WTRG stock has increased by 5.2% and is now trading at $38.22. How were Essential Utilities' earnings last quarter? Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July, 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Read the conference call transcript. Who are Essential Utilities' major shareholders? Essential Utilities' top institutional investors include Nordea Investment Management AB (2.55%), Boston Trust Walden Corp (0.91%), Allianz Asset Management GmbH (0.59%) and AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc (0.32%). Insiders that own company stock include Robert A Rubin, Chris Franklin, Ellen T Ruff and Colleen Arnold. View institutional ownership trends. How do I buy shares of Essential Utilities? Shares of WTRG stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services. What other stocks do shareholders of Essential Utilities own? Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Essential Utilities investors own include Humana (HUM), American Water Works (AWK), Waste Connections (WCN), Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR), The RMR Group (RMR), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH) and AU Optronics (AUOTY). Company Calendar Record date for 6/2 Dividend5/13/2025Ex-Dividend for 6/2 Dividend5/13/2025Dividend Payable6/02/2025Last Earnings7/31/2025Today8/02/2025Record date for 9/2 Dividend8/12/2025Ex-Dividend for 9/2 Dividend8/12/2025Dividend Payable9/02/2025Fiscal Year End12/31/2025Get Stock AlertsIndustry, Sector and Symbol Stock ExchangeNYSE SectorUtilities Industry UTIL - WATER SPLY Sub-IndustryUtilities Current SymbolNYSE:WTRG CIK78128 Webwww.essential.co Phone(610) 527-8000Fax610-645-1061Employees3,291Year FoundedN/APrice Target and Rating Average Price Target for Essential Utilities$43.50 High Price Target$46.00 Low Price Target$41.00 Potential Upside/Downside+13.8%Consensus RatingModerate Buy Rating Score (0-4)2.83 Research Coverage6 Analysts Profitability EPS (Trailing Twelve Months)$2.23 Trailing P/E Ratio16.40 Forward P/E Ratio19.21 P/E Growth3.38Net Income$595.31 million Net Margins27.62% Pretax Margin25.76% Return on Equity10.28% Return on Assets3.59% Debt Debt-to-Equity Ratio1.16 Current Ratio0.65 Quick Ratio0.57 Sales & Book Value Annual Sales$2.09 billion Price / Sales5.14 Cash Flow$3.44 per share Price / Cash Flow11.10 Book Value$22.57 per share Price / Book1.69Miscellaneous Outstanding Shares280,340,000Free Float279,749,000Market Cap$10.71 billion OptionableOptionable Beta0.78 Reduce the RiskMarket downturns give many investors pause, and for good reason. Wondering how to offset this risk? Enter your email address to learn more about using beta to protect your portfolio.Get This Free Report This page (NYSE:WTRG) was last updated on 8/2/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersMicrosoft's Next Big Bet?Microsoft just broke ground on a revolutionary power system that could deliver virtually limitless, carbon-fre...Stansberry Research | SponsoredI warned you about Nvidia… now look what’s happeningNvidia just got Trump’s greenlight to sell high-powered AI chips to China — and their stock surged 5% before t...Timothy Sykes | SponsoredTrump set to Boost Social Security Checks by 400%?If you're collecting or planning to collect social security... You should see this presentation about Presi...InvestorPlace | Sponsored$100 Trillion “AI Metal” Found in American Ghost TownJeff Brown recently traveled to a ghost town in the middle of an American desert… To investigate what could...Brownstone Research | SponsoredHIDDEN IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS…“This land I will give to you…” — a 4,000-year-old line from Genesis may hold the key to unlocking a $150 tril...Paradigm Press | SponsoredHe Called Nvidia at $1.10. Now, He Says THIS Stock Will…The original Magnificent Seven returned 16,894%—turning $7K into $1.18 million. Now, the man who called Nvi...The Oxford Club | SponsoredDigital Dollar Alert: Protect Your Wealth Before It’s Too Late134 countries are developing Central Bank Digital Currencies — and the U.S. is quietly testing one. Experts...American Alternative | SponsoredAlien rocks potentially worth trillions…It might look like just a weird rock—but it’s tied to a discovery 60 Minutes says could be worth up to $16 tri...Porter & Company | Sponsored Adding Choose a watchlist: Watchlist Adding You have already added ten stocks to your watchlist. Upgrade to MarketBeat All Access to add more stocks to your watchlist. Adding Essential Utilities Inc. Please log in to your account or sign up in order to add this asset to your watchlist. Share Essential Utilities With A Colleague Link copied to clipboard. Get 30 Days of MarketBeat All Access for Free Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools. Start Your 30-Day Trial MarketBeat All Access Features Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring Get personalized stock ideas. Compare portfolio to indices. Check stock news, ratings, SEC filings, and more. Stock Ideas and Recommendations See daily stock ideas from top analysts. Receive short-term trading ideas from MarketBeat. Identify trending stocks on social media. Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools Use our seven stock screeners to find suitable stocks. Stay informed with MarketBeat's real-time news. Export data to Excel for personal analysis. Sign in to your free account to enjoy these benefits In-depth profiles and analysis for 20,000 public companies. Real-time analyst ratings, insider transactions, earnings data, and more. Our daily ratings and market update email newsletter. Sign in to your free account to enjoy all that MarketBeat has to offer. Sign In Create Account Your Email Address: Email Address Required Your Password: Password Required Log In or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google Forgot your password? Your Email Address: Please enter your email address. Please enter a valid email address Choose a Password: Please enter your password. Your password must be at least 8 characters long and contain at least 1 number, 1 letter, and 1 special character. Create My Account (Free) or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google By creating a free account, you agree to our terms of service. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.