Latest Ratios: P/E Ratio 17.8x · EV/EBITDA 14.5x · ROE 9.4%. (1996–2025 historical series)
Price-based multiples — how expensive the stock is relative to earnings, sales, book value, and cash flow
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $11.1B | $10.8B | $10.0B | $10.0B | $12.5B | $13.9B | $12.0B | $10.1B | $6.1B | $7.0B | $5.3B |
| Enterprise Value | $19.4B | $19.1B | $17.7B | $17.1B | $19.4B | $19.9B | $17.8B | $11.4B | $8.7B | $9.1B | $7.2B |
| P/E Ratio → | 17.76 | 17.44 | 16.74 | 20.08 | 26.97 | 32.15 | 42.22 | 45.13 | 31.66 | 29.06 | 22.76 |
| P/S Ratio | 4.48 | 4.35 | 4.78 | 4.87 | 5.48 | 7.38 | 8.23 | 11.39 | 7.28 | 8.63 | 6.52 |
| P/B Ratio | 1.60 | 1.57 | 1.61 | 1.70 | 2.33 | 2.67 | 2.57 | 2.61 | 3.04 | 3.57 | 2.89 |
| P/FCF | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 417.64 |
| P/OCF | 10.97 | 10.65 | 12.94 | 10.71 | 20.90 | 21.50 | 23.70 | 29.94 | 16.55 | 18.33 | 13.50 |
P/E links to full P/E history page with 30-year chart
Enterprise-value multiples — capital-structure-neutral measures of total business value
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV / Revenue | — | 7.70 | 8.48 | 8.32 | 8.47 | 10.58 | 12.14 | 12.76 | 10.33 | 11.25 | 8.82 |
| EV / EBITDA | 14.48 | 14.24 | 15.69 | 16.49 | 19.72 | 22.07 | 25.68 | 22.86 | 18.42 | 19.36 | 15.51 |
| EV / EBIT | 21.05 | 20.09 | 20.19 | 23.88 | 28.11 | 31.56 | 39.18 | 33.70 | 31.20 | 26.39 | 21.54 |
| EV / FCF | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 565.47 |
Margins and return-on-capital ratios measuring operating efficiency
Full margin charts and quarterly trend are on the Earnings History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 41.0% | 41.0% | 58.6% | 54.8% | 46.9% | 52.6% | 52.5% | 62.6% | 63.2% | 65.1% | 63.8% |
| Operating Margin | 37.2% | 37.2% | 36.3% | 33.7% | 28.9% | 32.1% | 29.7% | 38.2% | 38.6% | 41.2% | 40.7% |
| Net Profit Margin | 24.9% | 24.9% | 28.5% | 24.3% | 20.3% | 23.0% | 19.5% | 25.2% | 22.9% | 29.6% | 28.6% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | 9.4% | 9.4% | 9.8% | 8.8% | 8.8% | 8.7% | 6.7% | 7.6% | 9.7% | 12.6% | 13.1% |
| ROA | 3.3% | 3.3% | 3.4% | 3.1% | 3.1% | 3.0% | 2.5% | 2.8% | 2.9% | 3.8% | 3.9% |
| ROIC | 4.8% | 4.8% | 4.2% | 4.1% | 4.2% | 4.2% | 4.2% | 5.3% | 5.6% | 6.4% | 6.9% |
| ROCE | 5.1% | 5.1% | 4.6% | 4.5% | 4.6% | 4.5% | 3.9% | 4.4% | 5.1% | 5.6% | 5.8% |
Solvency and debt-coverage ratios — lower is generally safer
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt / Equity | 1.22 | 1.22 | 1.25 | 1.20 | 1.27 | 1.16 | 1.22 | 0.80 | 1.27 | 1.09 | 1.02 |
| Debt / EBITDA | 6.23 | 6.23 | 6.85 | 6.84 | 6.96 | 6.69 | 8.28 | 6.21 | 5.45 | 4.52 | 4.06 |
| Net Debt / Equity | — | 1.21 | 1.24 | 1.20 | 1.27 | 1.16 | 1.22 | 0.31 | 1.27 | 1.08 | 1.02 |
| Net Debt / EBITDA | 6.20 | 6.20 | 6.85 | 6.84 | 6.95 | 6.68 | 8.27 | 2.45 | 5.44 | 4.51 | 4.06 |
| Debt / FCF | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 147.83 |
| Interest Coverage | 2.88 | 2.88 | 2.90 | 2.52 | 2.89 | 3.03 | 2.41 | 2.69 | 2.80 | 3.91 | 4.17 |
Short-term solvency ratios and asset-utilisation metrics
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Ratio | 0.80 | 0.80 | 0.50 | 0.62 | 0.64 | 0.65 | 0.63 | 6.23 | 0.37 | 0.46 | 0.43 |
| Quick Ratio | 0.65 | 0.65 | 0.40 | 0.48 | 0.45 | 0.49 | 0.53 | 6.17 | 0.33 | 0.41 | 0.38 |
| Cash Ratio | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 5.78 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Asset Turnover | — | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.15 | 0.13 | 0.11 | 0.10 | 0.12 | 0.13 | 0.13 |
| Inventory Turnover | 12.99 | 12.99 | 9.20 | 8.24 | 6.09 | 8.13 | 11.89 | 18.12 | 19.47 | 19.65 | 22.93 |
| Days Sales Outstanding | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Earnings, FCF, buyback, and dividend yields — total returns to shareholders
Full dividend history and growth charts are on the Dividend History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend Yield | 3.4% | 3.5% | 3.5% | 3.2% | 2.3% | 1.9% | 1.9% | 1.9% | 2.5% | 2.0% | 2.5% |
| Payout Ratio | 60.6% | 60.6% | 58.2% | 63.6% | 62.0% | 59.9% | 81.6% | 84.0% | 78.5% | 58.7% | 55.9% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings Yield | 5.6% | 5.7% | 6.0% | 5.0% | 3.7% | 3.1% | 2.4% | 2.2% | 3.2% | 3.4% | 4.4% |
| FCF Yield | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.2% |
| Buyback Yield | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Total Shareholder Yield | 3.4% | 3.5% | 3.5% | 3.2% | 2.3% | 1.9% | 2.0% | 1.9% | 2.5% | 2.0% | 2.5% |
| Shares Outstanding | — | $281M | $274M | $268M | $263M | $258M | $255M | $216M | $178M | $178M | $178M |
Regulatory acquisition rule changes
Based on current market data, WTRG trades at a forward P/E of 17.26, reflecting a valuation that appears tightly tethered to its regulated utility status rather than aggressive growth, with a 3.4% dividend yield providing a critical floor for institutional investors seeking stable, bond-proxy returns.
The current P/E multiple suggests that the market is pricing WTRG as a hybrid utility, balancing the premium typically afforded to water assets against the lower-multiple profile of its natural gas distribution business. Investors should monitor whether the current valuation adequately compensates for the regulatory risks associated with the company's aggressive municipal acquisition strategy in Pennsylvania.
As reported in quarterly financial statements, WTRG's earned ROE has fluctuated significantly, ranging from 1.1% to 4.5% over the last ten quarters, which suggests that the company frequently experiences meaningful regulatory lag between capital deployment and the subsequent recovery of those costs through authorized rate adjustments.
The wide variance in earned ROE indicates that the company's profitability is highly sensitive to the timing of rate case outcomes and the integration of acquired municipal systems. This inconsistency warrants further investigation into whether the current regulatory environment in Pennsylvania is becoming more adversarial, potentially compressing the spread between earned and authorized returns.
According to recent balance sheet disclosures, WTRG maintains a debt-to-capital ratio consistently near 0.55, a level that appears elevated for a regulated utility and suggests that the company is utilizing significant leverage to fund its ongoing infrastructure replacement and municipal system acquisition programs.
The persistent reliance on debt financing, coupled with interest coverage ratios that have dipped as low as 2.06x, indicates a balance sheet that is becoming increasingly sensitive to interest rate volatility. Investors should monitor whether this leverage profile limits the company's financial flexibility to pursue future inorganic growth opportunities without further diluting equity.
As indicated by the quarterly data, the dividend payout ratio has shown extreme volatility, spiking to 128.4% in 2024Q3, which suggests that the company's commitment to dividend growth is periodically challenged by the heavy cash requirements of its capital-intensive infrastructure and acquisition-led business model.
While the dividend remains a core component of the total return proposition, the frequent reliance on external capital to fund operations while maintaining payouts may indicate a structural tension between shareholder distributions and internal reinvestment. This pattern suggests that dividend sustainability is heavily dependent on the company's continued access to favorable debt markets.
The most commonly misapplied metric for WTRG is the standard P/E ratio, which fails to account for the significant non-cash earnings components like AFUDC and the lumpy nature of regulatory rate case timing that can artificially inflate or deflate reported earnings in any given quarter.
Investors should instead focus on rate base growth and the regulatory authorized ROE, as these are the primary drivers of long-term value creation in a regulated utility. Relying on P/E comparisons to non-utility peers obscures the reality that WTRG's earnings power is fundamentally determined by commission-approved returns rather than competitive market forces.
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Quick answers to the most common questions about buying WTRG stock.
Essential Utilities, Inc.'s current P/E ratio is 17.8x. The historical average is 26.3x. This places it at the 7th percentile of its historical range.
Essential Utilities, Inc.'s current EV/EBITDA is 14.5x. This enterprise value multiple compares the company's total value (equity + debt - cash) to its EBITDA. The historical average is 15.7x.
Essential Utilities, Inc.'s return on equity (ROE) is 9.4%. The historical average is 11.3%.
Based on historical data, Essential Utilities, Inc. is trading at a P/E of 17.8x. This is at the 7th percentile of its historical P/E range. Compare with industry peers and growth rates for a complete picture.
Essential Utilities, Inc.'s current dividend yield is 3.41% with a payout ratio of 60.6%.
Essential Utilities, Inc. has 41.0% gross margin and 37.2% operating margin. Operating margin above 20% indicates strong pricing power and cost efficiency.
Essential Utilities, Inc.'s Debt/EBITDA ratio is 6.2x, indicating high leverage. A ratio above 4x may signal elevated financial risk.