Stocktoria
Essential Utilities, Inc. WTRG
Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) earns a Piotroski F-score of 5/9 (mixed financial health), with an Altman Z″ in the grey zone. It pays a dividend yielding 3.48% (safety: stretched). FY2025 revenue was $2.5B at a 24.9% net margin.
Quality score trend · recomputed for each fiscal year
Each year's score is computed from that year's filing — a rising Piotroski F or Altman Z″ means improving financial health, a fall is worth a look.
Analyst price target
Recent analyst actions
| Date | Firm | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-15 | Barclays | Underweight (main) |
| 2026-07-02 | UBS | Buy (main) |
| 2026-05-29 | UBS | Buy (up) |
| 2025-12-17 | Barclays | Underweight (down) |
| 2025-10-28 | Jefferies | Hold (down) |
| 2025-10-28 | UBS | Neutral (down) |
Wall Street analyst consensus — a sentiment gauge, not our scoring.
Forward estimates · earnings calendar →
Consensus analyst estimates and scheduled dates — forward-looking, may change.
How it ranks in Transportation & Utilities · percentile among 348 companies
Percentile vs other Transportation & Utilities companies we cover — e.g. “stronger than 90%” means only 10% score higher on that measure.
Piotroski F breakdown · 5/9 tests passed
- Positive return on assets
- Positive operating cash flow
- Rising ROA
- Cash flow exceeds net income
- Lower long-term debt
- Rising current ratio
- No share dilution
- Rising gross margin
- Rising asset turnover
Altman Z″ components · grey zone
| Component | Value |
|---|---|
| Working capital / assets | -0.008 |
| Retained earnings / assets | 0.117 |
| EBIT / assets | 0.047 |
| Equity / liabilities | 0.544 |
Sector peers · similar-size Transportation & Utilities companies compare side by side →
| Ticker | Company | Piotroski F | Altman Z″ | P / E | Revenue growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WTRG | Essential Utilities, Inc. | 5/9 | 1.22 | 17.4 | +18.6% |
| CWT | CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE GROUP | 4/9 | 0.99 | 22.9 | +6.4% |
| HTO | H2O AMERICA | 3/9 | 0.94 | 24.8 | +7.6% |
| AWR | AMERICAN STATES WATER CO | 6/9 | 2.04 | 24.8 | +10.5% |
| MSEX | MIDDLESEX WATER CO | 4/9 | 1.13 | 24.1 | +1.5% |
| CWCO | Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. | 5/9 | 13.28 | 25.7 | -1.4% |
| ARTNA | ARTESIAN RESOURCES CORP | 5/9 | 0.93 | 15.2 | +4.6% |
All Transportation & Utilities companies →
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.
FAQ
Is WTRG financially healthy?
Essential Utilities, Inc.'s Piotroski F-score is 5/9 (8–9 is excellent, 0–3 weak), and its Altman Z″ distress score is in the grey zone.
Does WTRG pay a dividend, and is it safe?
Yes. Essential Utilities, Inc. pays a dividend yielding about 3.48% with a 60.6% payout ratio, rated “stretched” for safety.
How profitable is WTRG?
In FY2025, Essential Utilities, Inc. had a net margin of 24.9% and a return on equity of 9.0%.
Is WTRG overvalued or undervalued?
Essential Utilities, Inc. trades at about 18.1× trailing earnings — below its 10-year norm (10-year range 16.4×–49.9×, median 26.8×). Stocktoria reports the data, not buy/sell advice.
What is the analyst price target for WTRG?
The average Wall-Street price target for Essential Utilities, Inc. is $41.60, about 4.4% above the recent price, from 5 analysts (consensus: hold).
Is WTRG a good stock to buy?
Stocktoria doesn't give buy or sell advice, but here is the data on Essential Utilities, Inc.: a Piotroski F-score of 5/9, an Altman Z″ in the grey zone, a P/E of about 17.4×, a dividend yield of 3.48%. Weigh these quality and valuation signals against your own goals.
Computed from company filings · US · as of 2025-12-31. Facts plus Stocktoria's own computed scores — not investment advice.