AWK vs WTRG
American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) and Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) are both filed with the SEC under Water Supply. AWK is 2.4× WTRG's size by market cap ($27.2B against $11.5B); AWK trades at the higher fiscal-year P/E (24.0× against 18.4×); WTRG reports the higher net margin (24.9% against 21.6%); AWK grew sales faster over three years (+10.7% against +2.6%); and over the past year WTRG returned +6.5% against AWK's -1.3%.
| AWK | WTRG | |
|---|---|---|
| Last close | $138.30 | $41.10 |
| Market cap | $27.2B | $11.5B |
| P/E (FY) | 24.0× | 18.4× |
| P/S | 5.3× | 4.7× |
| EV/EBITDA | 14.9× | 14.6× |
| Operating margin | 36.6% | 37.2% |
| Net margin | 21.6% | 24.9% |
| Return on equity | 10.5% | 9.4% |
| Sales growth (3y) | +10.7% | +2.6% |
| EPS growth (3y) | +8.1% | +7.5% |
| Dividend yield | 2.3% | 3.2% |
| 1-year return | -1.3% | +6.5% |
Screener snapshot — prices as of 2026-08-28. Each side's last close is the most recent session the snapshot holds for that company, which can be an earlier one, and its 1-year return is measured to that close. Market caps struck on 2026-08-27. Last close, market cap and the 1-year return are price figures; every other row is computed over the company's latest filed fiscal year — FY2025 (ended 2025-12-31) for both.
Who holds them, and who has traded them
| AWK | WTRG | |
|---|---|---|
| Institutional holders (13F) | 1,133 | 692 |
| Congressional trades disclosed (180d) | 3 | 0 |
| Executive-branch officials on file — trades disclosed (180d) | 2 | 1 |
Counts only. The congressional figures count transactions dated in the trailing 180 days and disclosed in STOCK Act periodic transaction reports; amounts are filed as ranges and are never summed. The executive-branch figures count the same window of transactions, and they are scoped to one roster. The officials OGE posts for direct download.
AWK vs WTRG: common questions
- Is AWK bigger than WTRG?
- AWK carries the larger market cap — $27.2B against $11.5B, both struck on 2026-08-27.
- Which trades at a higher P/E, AWK or WTRG?
- AWK, at a fiscal-year 24.0× against 18.4× for WTRG. Both are price ÷ latest full-year diluted earnings per share, not a trailing-twelve-month P/E.
- How have AWK and WTRG performed over the past year?
- WTRG returned +6.5% and AWK -1.3%, measured on the trailing calendar year to the last close.
- How many institutions hold AWK and WTRG?
- 1,133 13F filers report a position in AWK and 692 in WTRG, on the latest quarter in the panel.
- Are AWK and WTRG in the same industry?
- Both are filed with the SEC under Water Supply, which is the classification this pairing is built on.
AWK overview → · WTRG overview → · AWK institutional ownership → · WTRG institutional ownership → · Congress and AWK → · Executive branch and AWK → · Executive branch and WTRG →
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Source: SPZCO — https://spzco.com/vs/awk-vs-wtrg