ES vs NEE vs WTRG Stock Comparison

Eversource Energy, Nextera Energy and Essential Utilities Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ES Eversource Energy
$67.56 +6.1% 1M -9.5% 1Y
Market cap
$25.48B
P/E
14.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.93B
Div. yield
0.04%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
6 wins
NEE Nextera Energy Inc
$82.02 +7.8% 1M -2.8% 1Y
Market cap
$172.22B
P/E
14.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.83B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Eversource Energy leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Eversource Energy 6, Nextera Energy 4, Essential Utilities 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESNEEWTRGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $25.48B $172.22B $12.10B NEE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.6x 14.8x 21.8x ES
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.4x 21.1x 18.0x ES
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.8% +9.6% +9.9% WTRG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.5% 40.4% 21.6% NEE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.2% 4.7% 5.5% ES
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.2x 7.0x 6.4x ES
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.00% 0.03% ES
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -9.5% -2.8% +3.8% WTRG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.6%/yr -0.7%/yr -1.7%/yr NEE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.8% 21.1% 22.3% NEE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 61/100 46/100 ES

Percentile Scorecard

ESNEEWTRG

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisESNEEWTRG
Valuation 85 #11 of 67 26 #50 of 67 20 #54 of 67
Growth 97 #3 of 65 92 #6 of 65 31 #45 of 65
Profitability 71 #19 of 64 89 #8 of 64 65 #23 of 64
Financial Health 3 #62 of 64 48 #34 of 64 57 #28 of 64
Shareholder Returns 85 #11 of 67 52 #33 of 67 55 #31 of 67
Overall 68 61 46
  • ES ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • NEE ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • WTRG ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodESNEEWTRGSPY
1 month +6.1%+7.8%+8.1% -0.8%
3 months -9.5%-7.7%+8.1% +3.5%
6 months -1.7%-13.5%+8.5% +7.0%
Year to date +0.3%+2.2%+11.5% +12.2%
1 year -9.5%-2.8%+3.8% +13.0%
3 years +27.1%+45.8%+28.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year +8.3%+13.4%+8.7% +23.1%
5 years -21.1%-3.5%-8.2% +68.6%
5 years, per year -4.6%-0.7%-1.7% +11.0%
10 years +24.4%+160.0%+43.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year +2.2%+10.0%+3.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureESNEEWTRGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.8%21.1%22.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.3%22.2%20.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.010.10-0.44 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.38-0.130.17 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.2%-47.2%-39.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.4%-16.2%-1.2% -1.8%
52-week high $76.21$97.88$43.28 $779.14
52-week low $63.29$75.50$36.25 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleESNEEWTRG
P/E now vs peer median 14.5xmedian 20.8x 14.7xmedian 20.8x 21.9xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 2.9x 6.0xmedian 2.9x 4.7xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.6xmedian 13.1x 18.4xmedian 13.1x 15.4xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 107.3xmedian 36.7x 36.8xmedian 36.7x -26.9xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.7x 2.4xmedian 1.7x 1.7xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 3.86median 2.23 1.05median 2.23 6.21median 2.23

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsESNEEWTRG
Revenue $13.93B $28.83B $2.57B
Operating income $3.14B $8.66B $900.69M
Net income $1.76B $11.64B $554.87M
Free cash flow $236.71M $4.67B -$451.91M
EPS (diluted) $4.64 $5.55 $1.95
Cash & equivalents – $5.58B $8.63M
Total debt $29.62B $413.84B $8.53B
Shares (diluted) 376.58M 2.10B 284.09M
Enterprise value $25.48B $158.97B $11.97B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricESNEEWTRG
P/E 14.5x 14.7x 21.9x
P/FCF 107.3x 36.8x -26.9x
P/Operating cash flow 5.8x 11.6x 11.8x
P/S 1.8x 6.0x 4.7x
P/B 1.5x 2.4x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 2.4x 1.7x
EV/EBITDA 11.6x 18.4x 15.4x
EV/EBIT 17.5x 32.0x 22.9x
EV/Revenue 3.9x 9.6x 8.0x
EV/FCF 232.5x 59.2x -45.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.5x 18.7x 20.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.86 1.05 6.21

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESNEEWTRG
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.8% 9.6% 9.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 1.7% 3.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 26.1% 13.4% -0.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.2% -3.5% 10.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 107.0% 79.0% -14.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 15.1% 6.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 103.1% 76.7% -15.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 3.8% 14.0% 3.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 51.2% 23.8% 12.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.0% 16.3% 8.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 116.6% 30.9% 5.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 29.1% 124.1% -5.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESNEEWTRG
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 34.1% 52.2% 52.1%
Operating margin 22.5% 30.0% 35.1%
Pretax margin 13.1% 35.0% 22.7%
Net margin 12.5% 40.4% 21.6%
FCF margin 1.7% 16.2% -17.6%
Operating cash flow margin 31.6% 51.4% 40.0%
Return on equity 10.7% 13.9% 8.0%
Return on assets 2.7% 4.1% 2.8%
Return on invested capital 6.2% 4.7% 5.5%
Return on capital employed 5.6% 4.2% 4.7%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.1x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.5x 1.3x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue – – 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESNEEWTRG
Debt / assets 45.8% 45.0% 42.8%
Debt / equity 1.8x 1.5x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.2x 7.0x 6.4x
Debt / FCF 125.1x 23.6x -18.9x
Liabilities / assets 74.5% 70.3% 64.8%
Equity / assets 25.5% 29.7% 35.2%
Interest coverage 2.4x 2,164x 2.6x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.5x 0.8x
Quick ratio – 0.3x 0.5x
Cash ratio – 0.2x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 0.74 0.99 1.00

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESNEEWTRG
Dividend yield 4.6% 3.0% 3.2%
Net buyback yield – -0.6% -1.0%
Shareholder yield 4.6% 2.4% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 63.4% – 69.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) 470.1% – -85.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) 8.4% – 7.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 8.3% – 8.6%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusESNEEWTRG
Forward P/E 15.4xFY2026 21.1xFY2026 18.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.39FY2026 $3.89FY2026 $2.37FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -7.8%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026 +7.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +9.3% +18.5% -5.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.05BFY2026 $32.08BFY2026 $2.42BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -3.7%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026 -1.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.0% +9.6% +17.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESNEEWTRG
Held by institutions 86.3% 84.3% 78.7%
Institutions holding 1,110 3,019 696
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.7% +2.3% +3.6%
Institutions buying 617 1,588 336
Institutions selling 320 1,054 232
Buyers to sellers 1.93 1.51 1.45

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ESNEEWTRG
ES 1.00 0.48 0.41
NEE 0.48 1.00 0.38
WTRG 0.41 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ES, NEE and WTRG?

Nextera Energy (NEE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Eversource Energy (ES) $25.48B, Nextera Energy (NEE) $172.22B, Essential Utilities (WTRG) $12.10B.

Which stock is cheaper, ES, NEE and WTRG?

Eversource Energy (ES) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Eversource Energy (ES) 14.6x, Nextera Energy (NEE) 14.8x, Essential Utilities (WTRG) 21.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Eversource Energy (ES) is cheapest (Eversource Energy (ES) 15.4x, Nextera Energy (NEE) 21.1x, Essential Utilities (WTRG) 18.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Essential Utilities (WTRG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Eversource Energy (ES) +9.8%, Nextera Energy (NEE) +9.6%, Essential Utilities (WTRG) +9.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nextera Energy (NEE) has the highest net margin (Eversource Energy (ES) 12.5%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 40.4%, Essential Utilities (WTRG) 21.6%). On return on invested capital, Eversource Energy (ES) leads (Eversource Energy (ES) 6.2%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 4.7%, Essential Utilities (WTRG) 5.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Essential Utilities (WTRG) returned the most: Eversource Energy (ES) -9.5%, Nextera Energy (NEE) -2.8%, Essential Utilities (WTRG) +3.8%. Over five years, Nextera Energy (NEE) compounded fastest (Eversource Energy (ES) -4.6%/yr, Nextera Energy (NEE) -0.7%/yr, Essential Utilities (WTRG) -1.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Eversource Energy (ES) has the highest dividend yield: Eversource Energy (ES) 0.04%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 0.00%, Essential Utilities (WTRG) 0.03%. Nextera Energy (NEE) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nextera Energy (NEE) has been the steadiest (Eversource Energy (ES) 24.8%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 21.1%, Essential Utilities (WTRG) 22.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ES, NEE and WTRG?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Eversource Energy (ES) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.