Sifting through countless of stocks in the Water Utilities industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in American States Water Company, Essential Utilities or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how American States Water Company, Essential Utilities and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About American States Water Company, Essential Utilities and Inc.

American States Water Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of water and electric services to residential, commercial, industrial, and other customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Water, Electric, and Contracted Services. The company purchases, produces, distributes, and sells water, as well as distributes electricity. It provides water service to approximately 265,100 customers; and distributes electricity to approximately 24,900 customers in several San Bernardino County Mountain communities in California. The company also offers water and/or wastewater services at various military installations. American States Water Company was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in San Dimas, California.

Essential Utilities, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, and natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water; and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It also provides utility service line protection solutions and repair services to households; gas marketing and production activities; and natural gas distribution services. The company serves approximately 5.5 million residential water, commercial water, fire protection, industrial water, wastewater, and other water and utility customers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, and Kentucky under the Aqua and Peoples brands. The company was formerly known as Aqua America, Inc. and changed its name to Essential Utilities, Inc. in February 2020. Essential Utilities, Inc. was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

Latest Water Utilities and American States Water Company, Essential Utilities, Inc. Stock News

As of March 31, 2026, American States Water Company had a $3.0 billion market capitalization, compared to the Water Utilities median of $2.6 million. American States Water Company’s stock is up 4.3% in 2026, up 3.2% in the previous five trading days and down 2.66% in the past year.

Currently, American States Water Company’s price-earnings ratio is 22.5. American States Water Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $658.1 million with a 19.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 14.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.310 per share for the current fiscal year. American States Water Company currently has a 2.7% dividend yield.

As of March 31, 2026, Essential Utilities, Inc. had a $11.4 billion market cap, putting it in the 80th percentile of all stocks. Essential Utilities, Inc.’s stock is up 5% in 2026, up 1.4% in the previous five trading days and up 2.49% in the past year.

Currently, Essential Utilities, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 18.3. Essential Utilities, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $2.5 billion with a 24.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 15.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.250 per share for the current fiscal year. Essential Utilities, Inc. currently has a 3.4% dividend yield.

How We Compare American States Water Company, Essential Utilities and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at American States Water Company, Essential Utilities and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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American States Water Company, Essential Utilities and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
American States Water Company	AWR	B
Essential Utilities, Inc.	WTRG	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

American States Water Company has a Growth Score of 78, which is Strong. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a Growth Score of 83, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Essential Utilities, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Essential Utilities, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than American States Water Company. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Essential Utilities, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

American States Water Company, Essential Utilities and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
American States Water Company	AWR	C
Essential Utilities, Inc.	WTRG	D

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

American States Water Company has a Quality Score of 49, which is Average. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a Quality Score of 35, which is Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither American States Water Company, Essential Utilities or Inc. has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if American States Water Company, Essential Utilities or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to quality.

American States Water Company, Essential Utilities and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
American States Water Company	AWR	C
Essential Utilities, Inc.	WTRG	C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

American States Water Company has a Earnings Estimate Score of 45, which is Neutral. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 57, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither American States Water Company, Essential Utilities or Inc. has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if American States Water Company, Essential Utilities or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other American States Water Company, Essential Utilities and Inc. Grades

In addition to Growth, Estimate Revisions and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether American States Water Company, Essential Utilities and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, American States Water Company, Essential Utilities or Inc. Stock?

Overall, American States Water Company stock has a Growth Score of 78, Estimate Revisions Score of 45 and Quality Score of 49.

Essential Utilities, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 83, Estimate Revisions Score of 57 and Quality Score of 35.

Comparing American States Water Company, Essential Utilities and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.