Essential Utilities (WTRG) Competitors $38.57 -0.32 (-0.81%) Closing price 03:59 PM EasternExtended Trading$38.55 -0.02 (-0.06%) As of 04:20 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 Competitors Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsDividendEarningsFinancialsHeadlinesInsider TradesOptions ChainOwnershipSEC FilingsShort InterestSustainabilityTrendsBuy This Stock WTRG vs. XEL, CQP, VG, FTS, EBR, LNT, EVRG, WES, SBS, and KEPShould you be buying Essential Utilities stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Essential Utilities include Xcel Energy (XEL), Cheniere Energy Partners (CQP), Venture Global (VG), Fortis (FTS), Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras S.A. - Eletrobrás (EBR), Alliant Energy (LNT), Evergy (EVRG), Western Midstream Partners (WES), Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo - SABESP (SBS), and Korea Electric Power (KEP). These companies are all part of the "utilities" industry. Essential Utilities vs. Xcel Energy Cheniere Energy Partners Venture Global Fortis Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras S.A. - Eletrobrás Alliant Energy Evergy Western Midstream Partners Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo - SABESP Korea Electric Power Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) and Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, community ranking, risk, profitability, dividends, media sentiment and valuation. Which has better valuation & earnings, XEL or WTRG? Xcel Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Essential Utilities. Essential Utilities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Xcel Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings RatioXcel Energy$13.70B2.94$1.94B$3.4020.56Essential Utilities$2.26B4.83$498.23M$2.2317.44 Which has more volatility & risk, XEL or WTRG? Xcel Energy has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Essential Utilities has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Is XEL or WTRG a better dividend stock? Xcel Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Essential Utilities pays an annual dividend of $1.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Xcel Energy pays out 67.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Essential Utilities pays out 58.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Xcel Energy has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years and Essential Utilities has raised its dividend for 32 consecutive years. Essential Utilities is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth. Does the media prefer XEL or WTRG? In the previous week, Xcel Energy had 29 more articles in the media than Essential Utilities. MarketBeat recorded 45 mentions for Xcel Energy and 16 mentions for Essential Utilities. Xcel Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.50 beat Essential Utilities' score of 1.16 indicating that Xcel Energy is being referred to more favorably in the media. Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment Xcel Energy 33 Very Positive mention(s) 5 Positive mention(s) 1 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive Essential Utilities 11 Very Positive mention(s) 0 Positive mention(s) 4 Neutral mention(s) 1 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive Is XEL or WTRG more profitable? Essential Utilities has a net margin of 27.84% compared to Xcel Energy's net margin of 14.40%. Xcel Energy's return on equity of 10.65% beat Essential Utilities' return on equity.Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Xcel Energy14.40% 10.65% 2.90% Essential Utilities 27.84%7.89%2.79% Does the MarketBeat Community believe in XEL or WTRG? Xcel Energy received 16 more outperform votes than Essential Utilities when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 36.67% of users gave Essential Utilities an outperform vote while only 32.45% of users gave Xcel Energy an outperform vote. CompanyUnderperformOutperformXcel EnergyOutperform Votes4932.45% Underperform Votes10267.55% Essential UtilitiesOutperform Votes3336.67% Underperform Votes5763.33% Do analysts prefer XEL or WTRG? Xcel Energy currently has a consensus price target of $76.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.70%. Essential Utilities has a consensus price target of $43.50, indicating a potential upside of 11.87%. Given Essential Utilities' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Essential Utilities is more favorable than Xcel Energy.Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Xcel Energy 0 Sell rating(s) 2 Hold rating(s) 8 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.80Essential Utilities 0 Sell rating(s) 1 Hold rating(s) 5 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.83 Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of XEL or WTRG? 78.4% of Xcel Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.8% of Essential Utilities shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Xcel Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Essential Utilities shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth. SummaryXcel Energy beats Essential Utilities on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks. Get Essential Utilities News Delivered to You Automatically Sign up to receive the latest news and ratings for WTRG and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter. Email Address New MarketBeat Followers Over TimeWhat are MarkeBeat Followers?This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding {thisCompany.Symbol} and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period. Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over TimeWhat is Media Sentiment?This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.Skip Chart WTRG vs. The Competition Export to ExcelMetricEssential UtilitiesWater supply IndustryUtilities SectorNYSE ExchangeMarket Cap$10.90B$5.18B$16.41B$19.41BDividend Yield3.41%2.61%5.72%3.83%P/E Ratio19.4421.0620.3734.23Price / Sales4.836.1422.6134.85Price / Cash11.6713.9618.6817.51Price / Book1.802.652.114.69Net Income$498.23M$209.66M$674.16M$1.02B7 Day Performance1.93%0.86%1.62%-1.74%1 Month Performance-5.57%-1.50%2.91%7.46%1 Year Performance0.92%-0.62%7.63%3.96% Essential Utilities Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)WTRGEssential Utilities4.8616 of 5 stars$38.57-0.8%$43.50+12.8%-1.2%$10.81B$2.26B19.293,210Positive NewsXELXcel Energy4.1745 of 5 stars$67.78-4.0%$76.00+12.1%+23.2%$39.09B$13.70B19.7012,000Positive NewsDividend AnnouncementAnalyst DowngradeOptions VolumeCQPCheniere Energy Partners1.575 of 5 stars$57.11-0.6%$53.60-6.1%N/A$27.64B$8.70B13.411,550Positive NewsAnalyst RevisionVGVenture Global4.4273 of 5 stars$10.02+7.2%$15.75+57.2%N/A$24.24B$4.97B0.001,400Gap DownFTSFortis4.4716 of 5 stars$46.73-2.7%$72.00+54.1%+17.7%$23.44B$11.51B19.809,200News CoveragePositive NewsEBRCentrais Elétricas Brasileiras S.A. - Eletrobrás2.1067 of 5 stars$7.55-1.7%N/A-0.8%$16.96B$40.18B9.2112,100News CoverageEarnings ReportAnalyst DowngradeGap DownLNTAlliant Energy4.2202 of 5 stars$59.52-3.6%$63.55+6.8%+18.7%$15.29B$3.98B22.133,130News CoveragePositive NewsAnalyst UpgradeHigh Trading VolumeEVRGEvergy3.5484 of 5 stars$65.35-1.9%$70.92+8.5%+19.2%$15.03B$5.85B17.664,510Positive NewsAnalyst DowngradeWESWestern Midstream Partners1.4926 of 5 stars$38.24+3.0%$38.33+0.2%-0.2%$14.58B$3.61B9.751,220News CoverageAnalyst ForecastAnalyst RevisionSBSCompanhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo - SABESP1.7705 of 5 stars$20.02-2.8%N/A+39.5%$13.68B$36.15B7.8812,500Positive NewsAnalyst DowngradeGap DownKEPKorea Electric Power1.1982 of 5 stars$9.55-1.0%N/A+44.9%$12.26B$92.58T4.4248,800News CoveragePositive NewsAnalyst Upgrade Related Companies and Tools Related Companies XEL Alternatives CQP Alternatives VG Alternatives FTS Alternatives EBR Alternatives LNT Alternatives EVRG Alternatives WES Alternatives SBS Alternatives KEP Alternatives Top 10 Stock Comparisons Semiconductor Stocks Artificial Intelligence Stocks Growth Stocks Magnificent Seven Stocks Pharmaceutical Stocks Ecommerce Stocks Bitcoin Stocks Meme Stocks Cryptocurrency Stocks Cybersecurity Stocks This page (NYSE:WTRG) was last updated on 5/22/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersThink NVDA’s run was epic? 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