Essential Utilities runs regulated water and wastewater systems and a natural gas distribution business, serving customers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and other states through its Aqua and Peoples subsidiaries. The moat is the rate base: state commissions allow it to earn a return on infrastructure it builds, which makes earnings visible and hard for a competitor to undercut. The growth driver is the pipe replacement cycle, since aging water and gas mains need heavy capital spending that regulators have approved in rate cases. The stock trades at 16.8x forward earnings against 20.6x trailing, so the market is pricing in earnings growth, but revenue growth of only 3.1% and an 8.1% ROE leave little room for error if rate case outcomes disappoint. Our score of 48/100 reflects that tension: a durable franchise at a moderate multiple, with returns that are adequate rather than compelling. It is worth a deeper look if you want regulated utility cash flows and can accept modest reported growth.
Plain-English pros, cons, and what to watch. Pro feature.
See what each model says, the assumptions behind it, the bad, normal and good cases, and why the fair value changed.
The full quality picture: a reason under every score, how the scores moved, and the conviction breakdown.
The full analyst picture: the price-target distribution against the current price, forward consensus estimates, and how ACCE's own models compare.
Trades are only made public after a delay. We show the delay so you know how old the news is.
Follow the informed money: 13F position changes, insider and Congress trades, and 13D activist filings.
| Date | Type | New | Previous | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Oct 2026, 00:00 CEST | Fair value | $36.43 | $39.67 | $38.98 |
| 10 Oct 2026, 00:00 CEST | ACCE price target | $39.00 | first publication | $38.72 |
| 26 Sept 2026, 00:00 CEST | Fair value | $39.67 | $40.21 | $39.74 |
| 20 Sept 2026, 00:00 CEST | Fair value | $40.21 | $40.65 | $41.04 |
| 18 Sept 2026, 00:00 CEST | Fair value | $40.65 | $41.38 | $41.37 |
| 7 Sept 2026, 00:00 CEST | Fair value | $41.38 | $40.92 | $41.70 |
| 30 Aug 2026, 00:00 CEST | Fair value | $40.92 | $40.02 | $41.10 |
| 24 Aug 2026, 00:00 CEST | Fair value | $40.02 | $40.65 | $40.24 |
| 22 Aug 2026, 00:00 CEST | Fair value | $40.65 | $35.86 | $40.82 |
| 31 Jul 2026, 00:00 CEST | Fair value | $35.86 | $36.31 | $40.48 |
Answered from Essential Utilities Inc. Common Stock fundamentals + recent valuations. Every number shows its source and date.
| Company | Price | Fair value | vs fair value | P/E | ROE | Quality | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WTRG Essential Utilities Inc. Common Stock | $43.11 | $37 | 18% above | 22.0x | 8.1% | 72 | 55 |
| SVT.L Severn Trent PLC | £32.42 | - | - | 26.3x | 20.5% | 66 | 66 |
| UU.L United Utilities Group PLC | £15.13 | £13 | 13% above | 18.0x | 27.7% | 82 | 80 |
| SBS Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp American Depositary Shares (Each repstg 250 Common Shares) | $6.27 | $9 | 32% below | 14.3x | 18.8% | 75 | 67 |
| AWK American Water Works Company Inc. Common Stock | $143.23 | - | - | 23.4x | 10.1% | 76 | 59 |
| AWR American States Water Company Common Stock | $85.05 | $56 | 51% above | 23.4x | 13.7% | 77 | 63 |
| CWT California Water Service Group Common Stock | $47.54 | $45 | 7% above | 21.3x | 7.7% | 69 | 67 |
Where WTRG ranks against its sector peers on each metric.