ES vs WTRG vs DUK Stock Comparison

Eversource Energy, Essential Utilities and Duke Energy Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ES Eversource Energy
$67.47 +3.9% 1M -8.7% 1Y
Market cap
$25.40B
P/E
14.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.93B
Div. yield
0.04%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
5 wins
DUK Duke Energy CORP
$124.97 +9.4% 1M -1.8% 1Y
Market cap
$96.91B
P/E
19.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$33.17B
Div. yield
0.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Eversource Energy leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Eversource Energy 5, Duke Energy 4, Essential Utilities 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESWTRGDUKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $25.40B $12.14B $96.91B DUK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.5x 21.9x 19.1x ES
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.3x 18.2x 19.1x ES
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.8% +9.9% +7.2% WTRG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.5% 21.6% 15.3% WTRG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.2% 5.5% 5.4% ES
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.2x 6.4x 5.2x DUK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.03% 0.03% ES
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.7% +4.4% -1.8% WTRG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.9%/yr -1.7%/yr +3.8%/yr DUK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.8% 22.3% 16.6% DUK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 45/100 56/100 ES

Percentile Scorecard

ESWTRGDUK

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

AxisESWTRGDUK
Valuation 86 #10 of 67 18 #55 of 67 70 #21 of 67
Growth 97 #3 of 65 31 #45 of 65 75 #17 of 65
Profitability 70 #20 of 65 64 #24 of 65 80 #14 of 65
Financial Health 5 #63 of 66 59 #28 of 66 35 #43 of 66
Shareholder Returns 85 #11 of 67 55 #31 of 67 23 #52 of 67
Overall 69 45 56
  • ES ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • WTRG ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • DUK ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESWTRGDUKSPY
1 month +3.9%+7.3%+9.4% -1.0%
3 months -10.0%+8.8%-4.3% +2.9%
6 months -1.7%+9.1%-1.8% +6.4%
Year to date +0.2%+12.4%+6.6% +11.4%
1 year -8.7%+4.4%-1.8% +13.1%
3 years +24.9%+29.7%+42.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year +7.7%+9.1%+12.5% +21.5%
5 years -22.0%-8.1%+20.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year -4.9%-1.7%+3.8% +10.9%
10 years +24.9%+45.9%+60.2% +255.2%
10 years, per year +2.3%+3.9%+4.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureESWTRGDUKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.8%22.3%16.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.3%20.1%17.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.01-0.45-0.31 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.350.20-0.11 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.2%-39.3%-26.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.5%-0.4%-6.4% -2.5%
52-week high $76.21$43.28$133.46 $779.14
52-week low $63.29$36.25$113.24 $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.

MultipleESWTRGDUK
P/E now vs peer median 14.5xmedian 20.8x 22.0xmedian 20.8x 19.1xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 2.8x 4.8xmedian 2.8x 2.9xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.6xmedian 13.1x 15.5xmedian 13.1x 11.0xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 107.2xmedian 36.7x -27.1xmedian 36.7x -29.5xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.7x 1.7xmedian 1.7x 1.7xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 3.85median 2.27 6.26median 2.27 0.68median 2.27

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 monthsESWTRGDUK
Revenue $13.93B $2.57B $33.17B
Gross profit – – $24.71B
Operating income $3.14B $900.69M $9.01B
Net income $1.76B $554.87M $5.24B
Free cash flow $236.71M -$451.91M -$3.30B
EPS (diluted) $4.64 $1.95 $6.53
Cash & equivalents – $8.63M $2.14B
Total debt $29.62B $33.10B $352.76B
Shares (diluted) 376.58M 284.09M 779.00M
Enterprise value $25.40B $12.01B $93.49B

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
MetricESWTRGDUK
P/E 14.5x 22.0x 19.1x
P/FCF 107.2x -27.1x -29.5x
P/Operating cash flow 5.8x 11.9x 8.3x
P/S 1.8x 4.8x 2.9x
P/B 1.5x 1.7x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 1.7x 1.7x
EV/EBITDA 11.6x 15.5x 11.0x
EV/EBIT 17.5x 23.0x 20.6x
EV/Revenue 3.9x 8.1x 5.6x
EV/FCF 232.3x -45.9x -56.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.5x 20.2x 15.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.85 6.26 0.68

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESWTRGDUK
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.8% 9.9% 7.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 3.7% 4.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 12.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 8.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 26.1% -0.6% 8.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.2% 10.0% 12.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 107.0% -14.1% 7.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 6.0% 29.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 103.1% -15.1% 8.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 3.8% 3.5% 28.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 51.2% 12.2% -3.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.0% 8.5% 27.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 116.6% 5.4% -1,646%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 29.1% -5.9% 19.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESWTRGDUK
Gross margin – – 74.5%
EBITDA margin 34.1% 52.1% 51.0%
Operating margin 22.5% 35.1% 27.2%
Pretax margin 13.1% 22.7% 18.1%
Net margin 12.5% 21.6% 15.3%
FCF margin 1.7% -17.6% -9.9%
Operating cash flow margin 31.6% 40.0% 35.2%
Return on equity 10.7% 8.0% 9.6%
Return on assets 2.7% 2.8% 2.7%
Return on invested capital 6.2% 5.5% 5.4%
Return on capital employed 5.6% 4.7% 5.1%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.1x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.5x 1.9x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESWTRGDUK
Debt / assets 45.8% 42.8% 45.6%
Debt / equity 1.8x 1.2x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.2x 6.4x 5.2x
Debt / FCF 125.1x -18.9x -27.4x
Liabilities / assets 74.5% 64.8% 71.5%
Equity / assets 25.5% 35.2% 28.5%
Interest coverage 2.4x 2.6x 2.4x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.8x 0.7x
Quick ratio – 0.5x 0.3x
Cash ratio – 0.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 0.74 1.01 0.73

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESWTRGDUK
Dividend yield 4.6% 3.2% 3.4%
Net buyback yield – -1.0% –
Shareholder yield 4.6% 2.3% 3.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 63.4% 69.8% 63.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) 470.1% -85.7% -101.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) 8.4% 7.8% 4.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 8.6% 1.5%

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.

ConsensusESWTRGDUK
Forward P/E 15.3xFY2026 18.2xFY2026 19.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.40FY2026 $2.37FY2026 $6.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -7.6%FY2026 +7.7%FY2026 +4.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +9.3% -5.9% +15.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.06BFY2026 $2.42BFY2026 $32.40BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -3.6%FY2026 -1.8%FY2026 +0.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.9% +17.2% +4.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESWTRGDUK
Held by institutions 86.3% 78.7% 69.7%
Institutions holding 1,110 696 2,457
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.7% +3.6% +0.5%
Institutions buying 617 336 1,297
Institutions selling 320 232 801
Buyers to sellers 1.93 1.45 1.62

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.

ESWTRGDUK
ES 1.00 0.41 0.60
WTRG 0.41 1.00 0.58
DUK 0.60 0.58 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ES, WTRG and DUK?

Duke Energy (DUK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Eversource Energy (ES) $25.40B, Essential Utilities (WTRG) $12.14B, Duke Energy (DUK) $96.91B.

Which stock is cheaper, ES, WTRG and DUK?

Eversource Energy (ES) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Eversource Energy (ES) 14.5x, Essential Utilities (WTRG) 21.9x, Duke Energy (DUK) 19.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Eversource Energy (ES) is cheapest (Eversource Energy (ES) 15.3x, Essential Utilities (WTRG) 18.2x, Duke Energy (DUK) 19.1x). 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%, Essential Utilities (WTRG) +9.9%, Duke Energy (DUK) +7.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Essential Utilities (WTRG) has the highest net margin (Eversource Energy (ES) 12.5%, Essential Utilities (WTRG) 21.6%, Duke Energy (DUK) 15.3%). On return on invested capital, Eversource Energy (ES) leads (Eversource Energy (ES) 6.2%, Essential Utilities (WTRG) 5.5%, Duke Energy (DUK) 5.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Essential Utilities (WTRG) returned the most: Eversource Energy (ES) -8.7%, Essential Utilities (WTRG) +4.4%, Duke Energy (DUK) -1.8%. Over five years, Duke Energy (DUK) compounded fastest (Eversource Energy (ES) -4.9%/yr, Essential Utilities (WTRG) -1.7%/yr, Duke Energy (DUK) +3.8%/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%, Essential Utilities (WTRG) 0.03%, Duke Energy (DUK) 0.03%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Duke Energy (DUK) has been the steadiest (Eversource Energy (ES) 24.8%, Essential Utilities (WTRG) 22.3%, Duke Energy (DUK) 16.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 5. 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.