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Essential Utilities (WTRG) Competitors

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$41.04 -0.76 (-1.83%)
Closing price 09/11/2026 03:58 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$41.06 +0.03 (+0.07%)
As of 09/11/2026 07:30 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 Massive. Learn more.

WTRG vs. LNT, MSEX, AWK, AWR, and CMS

Should you buy Essential Utilities stock or one of its competitors? Essential Utilities's main competitors and comparable companies include Alliant Energy (LNT), Middlesex Water (MSEX), American Water Works (AWK), American States Water (AWR), and CMS Energy (CMS). Companies are selected based on similarities in market, industry, and size. These companies are all part of the "utilities" sector.

How does Essential Utilities compare to Alliant Energy?

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) and Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, profitability, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Essential Utilities has a net margin of 21.60% compared to Alliant Energy's net margin of 18.45%. Alliant Energy's return on equity of 11.16% beat Essential Utilities' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Essential Utilities21.60% 8.23% 2.91%
Alliant Energy 18.45%11.16%3.31%

Essential Utilities currently has a consensus target price of $43.75, indicating a potential upside of 6.61%. Alliant Energy has a consensus target price of $77.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.48%. Given Alliant Energy's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Alliant Energy is more favorable than Essential Utilities.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Essential Utilities
1 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
2 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67
Alliant Energy
0 Sell rating(s)
5 Hold rating(s)
9 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.64

74.8% of Essential Utilities shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.9% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Essential Utilities shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Essential Utilities has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Alliant Energy has a beta of 0.54, indicating that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the broader market.

In the previous week, Alliant Energy had 8 more articles in the media than Essential Utilities. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Alliant Energy and 8 mentions for Essential Utilities. Essential Utilities' average media sentiment score of 1.09 beat Alliant Energy's score of 0.97 indicating that Essential Utilities is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Essential Utilities
5 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Alliant Energy
10 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Alliant Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Essential Utilities. Essential Utilities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alliant Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Essential Utilities$2.47B4.71$616.37M$1.9620.94
Alliant Energy$4.36B4.00$810M$3.1621.28

Essential Utilities pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Alliant Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Essential Utilities pays out 73.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alliant Energy pays out 67.7% 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. Essential Utilities has increased its dividend for 32 consecutive years and Alliant Energy has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Essential Utilities is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Alliant Energy beats Essential Utilities on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Essential Utilities compare to Middlesex Water?

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) and Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, media sentiment, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Middlesex Water currently has a consensus price target of $61.67, indicating a potential upside of 8.78%. Essential Utilities has a consensus price target of $43.75, indicating a potential upside of 6.61%. Given Middlesex Water's higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Middlesex Water is more favorable than Essential Utilities.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Middlesex Water
0 Sell rating(s)
1 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.50
Essential Utilities
1 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
2 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67

Middlesex Water pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Essential Utilities pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Middlesex Water pays out 55.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Essential Utilities pays out 73.5% 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. Middlesex Water has raised its dividend for 52 consecutive years and Essential Utilities has raised its dividend for 32 consecutive years.

Essential Utilities has higher revenue and earnings than Middlesex Water. Essential Utilities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Middlesex Water, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Middlesex Water$194.69M5.49$42.82M$2.5921.89
Essential Utilities$2.47B4.71$616.37M$1.9620.94

Middlesex Water has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Essential Utilities has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the broader market.

Middlesex Water has a net margin of 23.26% compared to Essential Utilities' net margin of 21.60%. Middlesex Water's return on equity of 9.59% beat Essential Utilities' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Middlesex Water23.26% 9.59% 3.48%
Essential Utilities 21.60%8.23%2.91%

79.5% of Middlesex Water shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.8% of Essential Utilities shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of Middlesex Water shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Essential Utilities shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

In the previous week, Essential Utilities had 7 more articles in the media than Middlesex Water. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Essential Utilities and 1 mentions for Middlesex Water. Middlesex Water's average media sentiment score of 1.88 beat Essential Utilities' score of 1.09 indicating that Middlesex Water is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Overall Sentiment
Middlesex Water Very Positive
Essential Utilities Positive

Summary

Middlesex Water beats Essential Utilities on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Essential Utilities compare to American Water Works?

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) and Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, media sentiment, valuation and risk.

American Water Works pays an annual dividend of $3.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Essential Utilities pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. American Water Works pays out 62.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Essential Utilities pays out 73.5% 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. American Water Works has increased its dividend for 18 consecutive years and Essential Utilities has increased 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.

Essential Utilities has a net margin of 21.60% compared to American Water Works' net margin of 21.35%. American Water Works' return on equity of 10.20% beat Essential Utilities' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
American Water Works21.35% 10.20% 3.20%
Essential Utilities 21.60%8.23%2.91%

American Water Works has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Essential Utilities has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the broader market.

In the previous week, American Water Works had 1 more articles in the media than Essential Utilities. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for American Water Works and 8 mentions for Essential Utilities. Essential Utilities' average media sentiment score of 1.09 beat American Water Works' score of 1.06 indicating that Essential Utilities is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
American Water Works
5 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
4 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Essential Utilities
5 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

American Water Works presently has a consensus target price of $140.11, indicating a potential upside of 1.77%. Essential Utilities has a consensus target price of $43.75, indicating a potential upside of 6.61%. Given Essential Utilities' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Essential Utilities is more favorable than American Water Works.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
American Water Works
1 Sell rating(s)
8 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.00
Essential Utilities
1 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
2 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67

American Water Works has higher revenue and earnings than Essential Utilities. Essential Utilities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Water Works, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
American Water Works$5.14B5.32$1.11B$5.7723.86
Essential Utilities$2.47B4.71$616.37M$1.9620.94

86.6% of American Water Works shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.8% of Essential Utilities shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of American Water Works shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Essential Utilities shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

American Water Works and Essential Utilities tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Essential Utilities compare to American States Water?

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) and Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, media sentiment and dividends.

Essential Utilities has a net margin of 21.60% compared to American States Water's net margin of 20.52%. American States Water's return on equity of 13.50% beat Essential Utilities' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
American States Water20.52% 13.50% 5.26%
Essential Utilities 21.60%8.23%2.91%

Essential Utilities has a consensus price target of $43.75, suggesting a potential upside of 6.61%. Given Essential Utilities' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Essential Utilities is more favorable than American States Water.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
American States Water
0 Sell rating(s)
2 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.33
Essential Utilities
1 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
2 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67

75.2% of American States Water shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.8% of Essential Utilities shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of American States Water shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Essential Utilities shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Essential Utilities has higher revenue and earnings than American States Water. Essential Utilities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American States Water, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
American States Water$697.48M4.91$130.44M$3.6523.68
Essential Utilities$2.47B4.71$616.37M$1.9620.94

In the previous week, Essential Utilities had 8 more articles in the media than American States Water. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Essential Utilities and 0 mentions for American States Water. American States Water's average media sentiment score of 1.73 beat Essential Utilities' score of 1.09 indicating that American States Water is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Overall Sentiment
American States Water Very Positive
Essential Utilities Positive

American States Water pays an annual dividend of $2.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Essential Utilities pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. American States Water pays out 59.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Essential Utilities pays out 73.5% 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. American States Water has increased its dividend for 71 consecutive years and Essential Utilities has increased its dividend for 32 consecutive years.

American States Water has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its share price is 43% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Essential Utilities has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its share price is 36% less volatile than the broader market.

Summary

American States Water and Essential Utilities tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Essential Utilities compare to CMS Energy?

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) and CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, media sentiment, institutional ownership and valuation.

CMS Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Essential Utilities. CMS Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Essential Utilities, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Essential Utilities$2.47B4.71$616.37M$1.9620.94
CMS Energy$8.54B2.47$1.07B$3.3320.17

Essential Utilities has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, CMS Energy has a beta of 0.34, indicating that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the broader market.

74.8% of Essential Utilities shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.6% of CMS Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Essential Utilities shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of CMS Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Essential Utilities has a net margin of 21.60% compared to CMS Energy's net margin of 11.64%. CMS Energy's return on equity of 10.76% beat Essential Utilities' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Essential Utilities21.60% 8.23% 2.91%
CMS Energy 11.64%10.76%2.62%

Essential Utilities pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. CMS Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Essential Utilities pays out 73.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CMS Energy pays out 68.5% 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. Essential Utilities has increased its dividend for 32 consecutive years and CMS Energy has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Essential Utilities is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Essential Utilities presently has a consensus price target of $43.75, indicating a potential upside of 6.61%. CMS Energy has a consensus price target of $81.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.58%. Given CMS Energy's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe CMS Energy is more favorable than Essential Utilities.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Essential Utilities
1 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
2 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67
CMS Energy
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
7 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.54

In the previous week, CMS Energy had 1 more articles in the media than Essential Utilities. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for CMS Energy and 8 mentions for Essential Utilities. CMS Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.24 beat Essential Utilities' score of 1.09 indicating that CMS Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Essential Utilities
5 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
CMS Energy
5 Very Positive mention(s)
3 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Summary

CMS Energy beats Essential Utilities on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding WTRG and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
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Media Sentiment Over Time

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.
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WTRG vs. The Competition

MetricEssential UtilitiesWater Utilities IndustryUtilities SectorNYSE Exchange
Market Cap$11.65B$6.12B$15.70B$23.38B
Dividend Yield3.51%3.99%4.05%3.56%
P/E Ratio20.9422.2924.3728.72
Price / Sales4.7151.04272.1821.09
Price / Cash11.2514.5718.6034.17
Price / Book1.692.822.174.74
Net Income$616.37M$302.59M$701.43M$1.07B
7 Day Performance-1.66%-1.50%-0.81%-2.00%
1 Month Performance1.46%-2.46%-2.26%-3.20%
1 Year Performance7.16%0.07%7.71%10.51%

Essential Utilities Competitors List

CompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)
WTRG
Essential Utilities
4.5148 of 5 stars
$41.04
-1.8%
$43.75
+6.6%
+7.2%$11.65B$2.47B20.943,303
LNT
Alliant Energy
4.2034 of 5 stars
$67.97
0.0%
$77.00
+13.3%
+3.7%$17.62B$4.43B21.512,948
MSEX
Middlesex Water
3.3678 of 5 stars
$58.26
-0.4%
$61.67
+5.8%
+5.1%$1.10B$206.14M22.49350
AWK
American Water Works
3.2718 of 5 stars
$140.49
-0.3%
$138.78
-1.2%
-1.1%$27.96B$5.28B24.357,000
AWR
American States Water
3.3158 of 5 stars
$88.27
-1.5%
N/A+18.1%$3.55B$658.07M24.18810

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This page (NYSE:WTRG) was last updated on 9/13/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
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