We are raising our fair value estimate for Essential Utilities to $43 per share from $42 after incorporating updates since the beginning of the year and earnings that are on track to meet our full-year outlook. We are reaffirming our narrow moat rating.
Constructive regulation allows Essential to raise rates through surcharges or rate cases to reduce regulatory lag and enhance cash flow available to pay the dividend and invest in growth projects.
Essential Utilities paid a peak market price for Peoples, which will drag on consolidated returns for many years.
|
Metric
|
WTRG
|
NI
|
AWK
|
|---|---|---|---|
Price/Earnings (Normalized) | 21.01 | 18.26 | 28.17 |
Price/Book Value | 1.74 | 1.63 | 2.64 |
Price/Sales | 5.40 | 2.45 | 6.14 |
Price/Cash Flow | 13.48 | 7.09 | 14.29 |
|
Metric
|
WTRG
|
NI
|
AWK
|
|---|---|---|---|
Quick Ratio | 0.45 | 0.32 | 0.67 |
Current Ratio | 0.62 | 0.66 | 0.85 |
Interest Coverage | 2.84 | 2.68 | 3.43 |
|
Metric
|
WTRG
|
NI
|
AWK
|
|---|---|---|---|
Return on Assets (Normalized) | 3.01% | 2.51% | 3.22% |
Return on Equity (Normalized) | 8.52% | 10.52% | 9.80% |
Return on Invested Capital (Normalized) | 5.63% | 5.28% | 5.71% |
|
Ticker
|
Name
|
Morningstar Rating for Stocks
|
Capital Allocation
|
Economic Moat
|
Market Cap
|
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