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STOCK COMPARISON

American Water Works vs Essential Utilities: Fair Value & Quality

Both stocks run through our valuation models. Here is how American Water Works (AWK) and Essential Utilities (WTRG) compare, as of Sep 5, 2026.

As of Sep 5, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees Essential Utilities as the less overvalued of the two: American Water Works trades at $141 versus a fair value of $65.80 (-53%), while Essential Utilities trades at $41.55 versus $21.81 (-48%).
American Water Works
AWK · USD · Utilities
-53%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$141
Fair Value$65.80
Quality41/100
Essential Utilities
WTRG · USD · Utilities
-48%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$41.55
Fair Value$21.81
Quality41/100
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Head-to-head numbers

Green value = the better side for that row (for valuation multiples: lower = cheaper).

American Water WorksEssential Utilities
Valuation
22.9×P/E (TTM)19.7×
5.04×P/S (TTM)4.29×
2.42×P/B1.60×
13.7×EV/EBITDA14.4×
2.51×PEG3.67×
−53.3%Fair value upside−47.5%
2.3%Dividend yield3.3%
$3.31Dividend per share$1.35
Profitability
33%Operating margin36%
1.11×EBIT margin trend (5Y)1.25×
10%Return on equity8%
4%Return on assets3%
Growth
6%Revenue growth (YoY)10%
10.7%Avg. growth/yr (3Y)2.6%
6.4%Avg. growth/yr (5Y)11.1%
+11.3%Value creation/yr+18.3%
Balance & size
3.1×Interest coverage (EBIT/interest)2.8×
1.18×Debt / equity1.18×
$26BMarket cap$11B
mixedGrowth qualityexpensive

Essential Utilities leads: 6 to 9 metric wins.

Dash = not meaningfully computable, for example with negative equity.

Quality in detail

The quality score, broken down into the same factor families as on the stock page, 0 to 100 per family.

American Water Worksof which business quality 38 · market factors 63 Essential Utilitiesof which business quality 38 · market factors 66
ProfitabilityMargins and returns on capital today
36
37
Quality GrowthAre margins and returns improving?
33
37
CashflowEarnings quality: real cash, not paper profit
48
44
Fin. StrengthBalance sheet, leverage, solvency risk
18
21
InvestmentDisciplined investing over empire-building
31
39
Low VolatilityCalm price path (market factor)
88
87
MomentumPrice trend over the last 3–12 months (market factor)
48
49
52W MomentumDistance to the 52-week high (market factor)
60
72
Net IssuanceBuybacks instead of dilution
70
59

What the models say

How far the median fair value (base case) per model family sits from the current price, in percent. The amount in the currency of the trading venue is shown underneath.

above the price, more than 15% above close to the price, 85% to 115% of the price below the price, more than 15% below

Model familyAmerican Water WorksPrice $141Essential UtilitiesPrice $41.55
Earnings-Based-78%below the price$30.84-53%below the price$19.49
Dividend Discount-61%below the price$54.41-44%below the price$23.19
Multiples-44%below the price$78.34-48%below the price$21.81
Asset-Based-74%below the price$37.18-61%below the price$16.20
Economic Profit-72%below the price$39.66-68%below the price$13.36
Growth Earnings-37%below the price$88.71-22%below the price$32.49
Minimum-78%below the price$30.84-68%below the price$13.36
Maximum-37%below the price$88.71-22%below the price$32.49
Median-67%below the price$47.03-50%below the price$20.65
Geometric mean-64%below the price$50.80-51%below the price$20.27

Minimum, maximum, median and geometric mean refer to the family values in this table. Geometric because deviations are ratios: half the price and twice the price average to 100%, not 125%.

American Water Works: 16 of 16 models see the stock below the current price.

Essential Utilities: 14 of 15 models see the stock below the current price.

Scenario ranges

From our cautious bear case to the optimistic bull case. The white tick is the current price: left of fair value means room to run.

American Water Works
Bear $49.35Fair Value $65.80Bull $99.51
$141 = current price (white tick)
Essential Utilities
Bear $16.36Fair Value $21.81Bull $30.34
$41.55 = current price (white tick)

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Ranked within their sector

Where each stock sits within its sector peer group. Band = middle 50% of peers, tick = median, dot = this stock.

American Water Works · Utilities

Quality score41 · below median
Fair value upside-53% · bottom 25%

Essential Utilities · Utilities

Quality score41 · below median
Fair value upside-48% · below median

Bottom line

As of Sep 5, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees Essential Utilities as the less overvalued of the two: American Water Works trades at $141 versus a fair value of $65.80 (-53%), while Essential Utilities trades at $41.55 versus $21.81 (-48%).

Essential Utilities has the higher quality score (41/100).

See the full analysis →
American Water Works · Essential Utilities

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A model-based valuation snapshot from 26 models. Values change with price and fundamentals; the date shown above applies.