Essential Utilities, Inc.
boothcheck covers Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) but does not put one priced-in number on it: here the defensible answer is the evidence rather than a point estimate. boothcheck publishes no house fair value, target price, or buy/sell rating. Narrative composed June 28, 2026.
Essential Utilities is a regulated water and natural-gas utility, so earnings track rate base. The company invested $269 million in Q1 2026, is on pace for $1.7 billion this year, and has a roughly $8.7 billion capital plan through 2030 that drives the earnings trajectory. The defining fact is corporate, not operational: shareholders have approved an all-stock merger with American Water, targeted to close in early 2027, which would lift the EPS growth target from the standalone 5% to 7% toward
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675 institutional managers reported holding WTRG in 13F filings for the quarter ended 2026-03-31. Together they hold about 76% of the company; the top 10 hold 38%. 76 opened new positions that quarter. Held by BlackRock, Vanguard Group, State Street, among others. On the short side, 4.7M shares were sold short as of the 2026-06-15 count, about 2% of shares outstanding (2.8 days of typical volume to cover).
Quarterly 13F filings arrive up to 45 days after quarter end, so the picture is never current (filed through 2026-05-29). Nothing here is investment advice.
WTRG's share count grew 11.2% over the past five years even with $14.44M spent on repurchases. It pays a dividend, and has paid one every year in our records (17 and counting), raised 16 years straight; the current rate is $1.34 a share annually. Cash returned over the past three years: $982.33M in dividends and $9.29M in repurchases.
Share counts are split-adjusted; repurchase totals are gross of share issuance. Nothing here is investment advice.
Open-market insider buys at WTRG over the trailing three years: 2024: 1 buy totaling $109k. 13 officers and directors are on file.
Code P open-market purchases from SEC Form 4 filings, non-derivative, excluding scheduled 10b5-1 plans. Nothing here is investment advice.
WTRG's recent reports: the day-one move, then what the following quarter actually did.
| report | day one | next quarter |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-08-09 | -2.9% | -14.0% |
| 2023-11-08 | -2.2% | +11.8% |
| 2024-03-01 | -2.7% | +8.5% |
| 2024-05-09 | +0.3% | +3.2% |
Day-one is the close-to-close move around the filing. Nothing here is investment advice.
WTRG's latest 8-K filings: 2026-08-05 (items 2.02, 9.01); 2026-05-15 (items 7.01, 9.01); 2026-05-08 (items 7.01, 9.01); 2026-05-07 (items 2.02, 9.01); 2026-04-30 (items 5.07).
Item codes are the SEC's own classification of what each report discloses. Dates link to the filing on EDGAR. Nothing here is investment advice.
Model solve date: 2026-Q2
Narrative composed: June 28, 2026
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For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.