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U.S. Water Utilities Industry Analysis

UpdatedDec 16, 2025
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies18
  • 7D3.6%
  • 3M0.4%
  • 1Y0.4%
  • YTD6.0%

Over the last 7 days, the Water Utilities industry has risen 3.6%, driven by gains from American Water Works Company of 4.4%. Meanwhile, Cadiz actually underperformed within the industry, shrinking 7.1% in the last week. Overall in the last year, the industry is flat. Looking forward, earnings are forecast to grow by 8.6% annually.

Industry Valuation and Performance

Has the U.S. Water Utilities Industry valuation changed over the past few years?

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Tue, 16 Dec 2025US$47.1bUS$10.5bUS$2.2b22.1x21x4.5x
Thu, 13 Nov 2025US$50.5bUS$11.2bUS$2.2b22.5x23.5x4.5x
Sat, 11 Oct 2025US$53.7bUS$10.9bUS$2.1b22.7x25.7x4.9x
Mon, 08 Sep 2025US$50.7bUS$10.3bUS$2.2b22.5x23.3x4.9x
Wed, 06 Aug 2025US$49.9bUS$10.3bUS$2.2b21.6x23x4.9x
Fri, 04 Jul 2025US$48.3bUS$10.0bUS$2.1b23.1x22.8x4.8x
Sun, 01 Jun 2025US$49.5bUS$10.0bUS$2.1b24x23.3x4.9x
Tue, 29 Apr 2025US$50.1bUS$9.8bUS$2.1b20.7x23.5x5.1x
Thu, 27 Mar 2025US$47.9bUS$9.7bUS$2.1b21.6x22.4x4.9x
Sat, 22 Feb 2025US$46.3bUS$9.6bUS$2.1b20.5x22x4.8x
Mon, 20 Jan 2025US$44.5bUS$9.4bUS$2.0b20.6x22x4.7x
Wed, 18 Dec 2024US$46.8bUS$9.4bUS$2.0b23.8x23.1x5x
Fri, 15 Nov 2024US$47.8bUS$9.4bUS$2.0b24x23.6x5.1x
Sun, 13 Oct 2024US$49.0bUS$9.2bUS$2.0b22.7x24.9x5.4x
Tue, 10 Sep 2024US$50.5bUS$9.2bUS$2.0b23.9x25.7x5.5x
Thu, 08 Aug 2024US$50.1bUS$9.2bUS$2.0b24x25.4x5.5x
Sat, 06 Jul 2024US$45.1bUS$9.0bUS$2.0b22.1x23x5x
Mon, 03 Jun 2024US$46.3bUS$9.0bUS$2.0b21.7x23.5x5.1x
Wed, 01 May 2024US$44.0bUS$9.1bUS$1.9b21.4x23.4x4.8x
Fri, 29 Mar 2024US$43.9bUS$9.0bUS$1.8b22.9x24.7x4.9x
Sun, 25 Feb 2024US$42.9bUS$9.1bUS$1.7b23x24.6x4.7x
Tue, 23 Jan 2024US$46.4bUS$9.0bUS$1.7b25.9x26.8x5.1x
Thu, 21 Dec 2023US$48.3bUS$9.0bUS$1.7b27.8x27.9x5.3x
Sat, 18 Nov 2023US$47.1bUS$9.0bUS$1.7b27.9x27.2x5.2x
Mon, 16 Oct 2023US$60.8bUS$13.9bUS$2.6b25.5x23.7x4.4x
Wed, 13 Sep 2023US$48.7bUS$8.9bUS$1.7b29.3x28.7x5.5x
Fri, 11 Aug 2023US$50.2bUS$8.9bUS$1.7b30.9x29.7x5.6x
Sun, 09 Jul 2023US$49.9bUS$8.7bUS$1.6b33.4x31.1x5.7x
Tue, 06 Jun 2023US$52.5bUS$8.7bUS$1.6b33.9x32.8x6x
Thu, 04 May 2023US$52.1bUS$8.6bUS$1.6b34.3x32.7x6.1x
Sat, 01 Apr 2023US$52.7bUS$8.5bUS$1.6b32.6x32.9x6.2x
Mon, 27 Feb 2023US$50.3bUS$8.3bUS$1.6b32.5x31.5x6x
Wed, 25 Jan 2023US$53.6bUS$8.3bUS$2.1b34.9x25.8x6.5x
Fri, 23 Dec 2022US$53.0bUS$8.3bUS$2.1b34.7x25.5x6.4x
Price to Earnings Ratio

25.5x


Total Market Cap: US$53.0bTotal Earnings: US$2.1bTotal Revenue: US$8.3bTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.S. Water Utilities Industry Price to Earnings3Y Average 25.7x202320242025
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are pessimistic on the American Water Utilities industry, indicating that they anticipate long term growth rates will be lower than they have historically.
  • The industry is trading at a PE ratio of 21.0x which is lower than its 3-year average PE of 25.7x.
  • The 3-year average PS ratio of 5.3x is higher than the industry's current PS ratio of 4.5x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • The earnings for companies in the Water Utilities industry have grown 2.5% per year over the last three years.
  • Revenues for these companies have grown 8.2% per year.
  • This means that more sales are being generated by these companies overall, and subsequently their profits are increasing too.

Industry Trends

Which industries have driven the changes within the U.S. Utilities industry?

US Market-0.69%
Utilities0.69%
Water Utilities3.60%
Water3.60%
Industry PEThere are no additional sub-industries under this industry.
Forecasted GrowthThere are no additional sub-industries under this industry.

Top Stock Gainers and Losers

Which companies have driven the market over the last 7 days?

CompanyLast Price7D1YValuation
AWK American Water Works CompanyUS$134.134.4%
+US$1.1b		4.0%PE23.5x
WTRG Essential UtilitiesUS$38.433.2%
+US$339.6m		1.2%PE16.3x
AWR American States WaterUS$73.973.0%
+US$84.0m		-11.4%PE22.1x
HTO H2O AmericaUS$48.874.9%
+US$82.0m		-8.6%PE16x
MSEX Middlesex WaterUS$53.074.2%
+US$39.4m		-10.0%PE22.7x

Latest News

CDZI
US$5.35
Cadiz
7D
-7.1%
1Y
31.4%

Cadiz: The Mojave Groundwater Bank Takes A Financing Step Closer To Reality

Dec 15
HTO
US$48.87
H2O America
7D
4.9%
1Y
-8.6%
CWT
US$43.81
California Water Service Group
7D
0.5%
1Y
-9.4%
CWCO
US$36.19
Consolidated Water
7D
5.8%
1Y
39.2%

CWCO: New Wastewater Contract Will Support Future Margins And Share Gains

Analysts have increased their price target for Consolidated Water by 0.0 dollars, reflecting slightly refined assumptions around discount rates, revenue growth and profit margins that leave their overall valuation view effectively unchanged. What's in the News Won an $11.7 million contract to build a wastewater recycling plant for a San Francisco Bay Area golf club, adding to its portfolio of U.S. water infrastructure projects (Key Developments) New plant will treat 200,000 gallons of wastewater per day and provide 600,000 gallons of treated water storage for irrigation use (Key Developments) Facility will use membrane bioreactor technology to produce high quality recycled water while saving an estimated 36 to 38 million gallons of potable water annually (Key Developments) Value engineered design, including precast concrete basins and prefabricated equipment buildings, is expected to cut construction costs and speed delivery of the project (Key Developments) Valuation Changes Fair Value: Unchanged at $42.50 per share, indicating no material shift in the intrinsic valuation estimate.
WTRG
US$38.43
Essential Utilities
7D
3.2%
1Y
1.2%

WTRG: Modest Merger Premium Will Shape Long Term Upside Potential

Analysts have lowered their price targets on Essential Utilities by a few dollars into the low to mid $40s. This reflects a more cautious stance on the announced all stock merger with American Water and its relatively modest implied premium.
AWK
US$134.13
American Water Works Company
7D
4.4%
1Y
4.0%
YORW
US$33.80
York Water
7D
3.6%
1Y
-3.6%

York Water's (NASDAQ:YORW) Upcoming Dividend Will Be Larger Than Last Year's

Nov 29
York Water's (NASDAQ:YORW) Upcoming Dividend Will Be Larger Than Last Year's
MSEX
US$53.07
Middlesex Water
7D
4.2%
1Y
-10.0%

Slowing Rates Of Return At Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Leave Little Room For Excitement

Nov 20
Slowing Rates Of Return At Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Leave Little Room For Excitement
AWR
US$73.97
American States Water
7D
3.0%
1Y
-11.4%