Company Reports

For more than 50 years, Essential Utilities—formerly Aqua America—was one of the few pure-play water utilities in the United States. But its $4.3 billion acquisition of Peoples Natural Gas in March 2020 made the company nearly 50% larger and diversified its earnings mix.

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.

We reaffirm our $42 fair value estimate for Essential Utilities after the US Environmental Protection Agency issued its final rule with limits for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in water utility systems, including Essential's subsidiaries. We are reaffirming our narrow moat rating.

We reaffirm our $42 fair value estimate for Essential Utilities after the company reported earning $1.86 per share in 2023, up from $1.77 in 2022 and in line with our estimate and management's guidance range. We also reaffirm our narrow moat rating.

With the U.N. Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as COP28, starting this week, we are reasserting our view that the market underappreciates utilities' critical role in limiting global warming.

For more than 50 years, Essential Utilities—formerly Aqua America—was one of the few pure-play water utilities in the United States. But its $4.3 billion acquisition of Peoples Natural Gas in March 2020 made the company nearly 50% larger and diversified its earnings mix.

We reaffirm our $42 per share fair value estimate for Essential Utilities after the company reported earning $0.30 per share during the third quarter, up from $0.26 during the third quarter of 2022. Essential remains on track to meet our full-year outlook. We also reaffirm our narrow moat rating.

We reaffirm our $42 per share fair value estimate for Essential Utilities after several moves in the last month that give us confidence management is executing its strategic plan to simplify the business and position it for continued growth. We reaffirm our narrow moat rating.

We are reaffirming our fair value estimates and economic moat ratings for all U.S. utilities after the sector fell nearly 5% on Monday. We think the sector's 11% drop since last week offers a rare opportunity for investors to buy high-quality utilities at very attractive prices.

We reaffirm our $42 per share fair value estimate for Essential Utilities after the company reported earning $0.34 per share during the second quarter, up from $0.31 during the second quarter of 2022. Essential remains on track to meet our full-year outlook. We also reaffirm our narrow moat rating.

For more than 50 years, Essential Utilities--formerly Aqua America--was one of the few pure-play water utilities in the United States. But its $4.3 billion acquisition of Peoples Gas in March 2020 made the company nearly 50% larger and diversified its earnings mix.

We reaffirm our $42 per share fair value estimate for Essential Utilities after the company reported earning $0.72 per share during the first quarter, down from $0.76 during the first quarter of 2022 primarily due to exceptionally warm winter weather that reduced gas use. Essential remains on track to meet our full-year outlook. We also reaffirm our narrow moat and stable moat trend ratings.

We are reaffirming our $42 fair value estimate for Essential Utilities after the company reported earning $1.77 per share in 2022, up from $1.67 in 2021. This was in line with our outlook and management's guidance. We are reaffirming our narrow moat and stable moat trend ratings.

For more than 50 years, Essential Utilities--formerly Aqua America--was one of the few pure-play water utilities in the United States. But its $4.3 billion acquisition of Peoples Gas in March 2020 made the company nearly 50% larger and diversified its earnings mix.

For more than 50 years, Essential Utilities--formerly Aqua America--was one of the few pure-play water utilities in the United States. But its $4.3 billion acquisition of Peoples Gas in March 2020 made the company nearly 50% larger and diversified its earnings mix. The gas business contributes about one third of earnings on a normalized basis. We think that share will slowly shrink as Essential continues to pursue municipal water system acquisitions.

For more than 50 years, Essential Utilities--formerly Aqua America--was one of the few pure-play water utilities in the United States. But its $4.3 billion acquisition of Peoples Gas in March 2020 made the company nearly 50% larger and diversified its earnings mix. The gas business contributes about one third of earnings on a normalized basis, but that could shrink if Essential's municipal water system acquisition strategy picks up speed.

We are reaffirming our $41 fair value estimate for Essential Utilities after the company reported earnings per share of $0.26 in the third quarter, up from $0.19 in the third quarter of 2021. Year-to-date earnings are up 8% and on track to meet our full-year forecast. We are reaffirming our narrow moat and stable moat trend ratings.

We are reaffirming our fair value estimates for U.S. utilities after raising our 10-year annual U.S. electricity demand growth forecast to 1.4%, up from 1.2% in our previous forecast two years ago. We also are reaffirming our economic moat and moat trend ratings for all U.S. utilities.

Our initial analysis of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden plans to sign on Aug. 16 has led us to reaffirm or make slight increases to our fair value estimates for U.S. utilities. We are reaffirming our moat and moat trend ratings.

We are reaffirming our $41 fair value estimate for Essential Utilities after the company reported earnings per share of $0.31 in the second quarter, mostly flat from the second quarter of 2021. We are reaffirming our narrow moat and stable moat trend ratings.