NI vs. WTRG: NiSource vs. Essential Utilities Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do NiSource (NI) and Essential Utilities (WTRG) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

NiSource (NI) and Essential Utilities (WTRG) both fall under the Utilities industry group, but NI is classified in Multi-Utilities while WTRG is classified in Water Utilities.

Company profile comparison for NiSource (NI) and Essential Utilities (WTRG)
Profile Item	NI	WTRG
Name	NiSource Inc.	Essential Utilities Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Utilities	Utilities
GICS Industry Group	Utilities	Utilities
GICS Industry	Multi-Utilities	Water Utilities
GICS Sub-Industry	Multi-Utilities	Water Utilities
Market Capitalization	21.18 billion USD	13.02 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 21, 1973	March 17, 1980
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

WTRG

GSPC

NiSource (NI) vs. Essential Utilities (WTRG), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for NiSource (NI) and Essential Utilities (WTRG). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for NiSource (NI) and Essential Utilities (WTRG). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for NiSource (NI) and Essential Utilities (WTRG)
Metric	NI	WTRG
Total Return (1Y)	6.11%	19.07%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	25.66%	13.95%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	16.11%	2.39%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

WTRG

GSPC

NiSource (NI) vs. Essential Utilities (WTRG), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for NiSource (NI) and Essential Utilities (WTRG). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for NiSource (NI) and Essential Utilities (WTRG)
Metric	NI	WTRG
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	18.23%	22.14%
Beta (5Y)	0.53	0.61
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-24.76%	-36.53%
Avg. Volume (3M)	5.64M	2.38M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

NI and WTRG are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for NiSource (NI) and Essential Utilities (WTRG)
Metric	NI	WTRG
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.10	0.67
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.14	1.08

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both NiSource (NI) at 8.71% and Essential Utilities (WTRG) at 8.13% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

NI

Utilities industry group

8.71%

Max: 17.99%
Q3: 12.01%
Median: 9.44%
NI: 8.71%
Q1: 7.56%
Min: 2.17%

WTRG

Utilities industry group

8.13%

Max: 17.99%
Q3: 12.01%
Median: 9.44%
WTRG: 8.13%
Q1: 7.56%
Min: 2.17%

NiSource (NI) vs. Essential Utilities (WTRG): A comparison of their ROE against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Essential Utilities (WTRG) at 21.79% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of NiSource (NI) at 13.51%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

NI

Utilities industry group

13.51%

Max: 28.78%
Q3: 17.30%
NI: 13.51%
Median: 12.73%
Q1: 9.18%
Min: -0.20%

WTRG

Utilities industry group

21.79%

Max: 28.78%
WTRG: 21.79%
Q3: 17.30%
Median: 12.73%
Q1: 9.18%
Min: -0.20%

NiSource (NI) vs. Essential Utilities (WTRG): A comparison of their net margin against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Essential Utilities (WTRG) at 38.94% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of NiSource (NI) at 25.20%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

NI

Utilities industry group

25.20%

Max: 53.83%
Q3: 31.12%
NI: 25.20%
Median: 23.62%
Q1: 15.45%
Min: -4.90%

WTRG

Utilities industry group

38.94%

Max: 53.83%
WTRG: 38.94%
Q3: 31.12%
Median: 23.62%
Q1: 15.45%
Min: -4.90%

NiSource (NI) vs. Essential Utilities (WTRG): A comparison of their operating margin against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for NiSource (NI) and Essential Utilities (WTRG)
Metric	NI	WTRG
ROE (TTM)	8.71%	8.13%
ROA (TTM)	3.25%	3.00%
Net Margin (TTM)	13.51%	21.79%
Operating Margin (TTM)	25.20%	38.94%
Gross Margin (TTM)	50.92%	57.07%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both NiSource (NI) at 21.76% and Essential Utilities (WTRG) at 18.62% sit in the top peer quartile for revenue growth, so each is growing its top line faster than typical industry peers.

NiSource (NI) vs. Essential Utilities (WTRG): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

NiSource (NI) at 20.37% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Essential Utilities (WTRG) at 1.38% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for NI.

NiSource (NI) vs. Essential Utilities (WTRG): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for NiSource (NI) and Essential Utilities (WTRG)
Metric	NI	WTRG
Revenue Growth (YoY)	21.76%	18.62%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.32%	2.65%
EPS Growth (YoY)	20.37%	1.38%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.68%	7.52%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both NiSource (NI) at 0.50 and Essential Utilities (WTRG) at 0.40 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

NI

Utilities industry group

0.50

Max: 1.90
Q3: 1.17
Median: 0.88
Q1: 0.66
NI: 0.50
Min: 0.29

WTRG

Utilities industry group

0.40

Max: 1.90
Q3: 1.17
Median: 0.88
Q1: 0.66
WTRG: 0.40
Min: 0.29

NiSource (NI) vs. Essential Utilities (WTRG): A comparison of their current ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both NiSource (NI) at 1.53 and Essential Utilities (WTRG) at 1.23 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

NI

Utilities industry group

1.53

Max: 2.63
Q3: 1.77
NI: 1.53
Median: 1.35
Q1: 0.84
Min: 0.00

WTRG

Utilities industry group

1.23

Max: 2.63
Q3: 1.77
Median: 1.35
WTRG: 1.23
Q1: 0.84
Min: 0.00

NiSource (NI) vs. Essential Utilities (WTRG): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for NiSource (NI) and Essential Utilities (WTRG)
Metric	NI	WTRG
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.50	0.40
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.53	1.23
Net Debt / EBITDA	5.87	6.30

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both NiSource (NI) at 0.68% and Essential Utilities (WTRG) at 3.01% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

NI

Utilities industry group

0.68%

Max: 6.66%
Q3: 3.58%
Median: 2.85%
NI: 0.68%
Q1: 0.66%
Min: 0.00%

WTRG

Utilities industry group

3.01%

Max: 6.66%
Q3: 3.58%
WTRG: 3.01%
Median: 2.85%
Q1: 0.66%
Min: 0.00%

NiSource (NI) vs. Essential Utilities (WTRG): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

NiSource (NI) at 60.51% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while Essential Utilities (WTRG) at 69.42% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

NI

Utilities industry group

60.51%

Max: 113.04%
Q3: 68.72%
NI: 60.51%
Median: 56.38%
Q1: 32.38%
Min: 0.00%

WTRG

Utilities industry group

69.42%

Max: 113.04%
WTRG: 69.42%
Q3: 68.72%
Median: 56.38%
Q1: 32.38%
Min: 0.00%

NiSource (NI) vs. Essential Utilities (WTRG): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for NiSource (NI) and Essential Utilities (WTRG)
Metric	NI	WTRG
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.68%	3.01%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	60.51%	69.42%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both NiSource (NI) at 22.64 and Essential Utilities (WTRG) at 22.73 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

NI

Utilities industry group

22.64

Max: 31.22
Q3: 23.30
NI: 22.64
Median: 19.64
Q1: 15.17
Min: 3.34

WTRG

Utilities industry group

22.73

Max: 31.22
Q3: 23.30
WTRG: 22.73
Median: 19.64
Q1: 15.17
Min: 3.34

NiSource (NI) vs. Essential Utilities (WTRG): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

NiSource (NI) at 3.04 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Essential Utilities (WTRG) at 5.01 sits in the pricier quartile — WTRG costs more per dollar of sales.

NI

Utilities industry group

3.04

Max: 6.35
Q3: 3.63
NI: 3.04
Median: 2.63
Q1: 1.52
Min: 0.00

WTRG

Utilities industry group

5.01

Max: 6.35
WTRG: 5.01
Q3: 3.63
Median: 2.63
Q1: 1.52
Min: 0.00

NiSource (NI) vs. Essential Utilities (WTRG): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both NiSource (NI) at 2.21 and Essential Utilities (WTRG) at 1.83 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

NI

Utilities industry group

2.21

Max: 3.12
Q3: 2.21
NI: 2.21
Median: 1.83
Q1: 1.46
Min: 0.34

WTRG

Utilities industry group

1.83

Max: 3.12
Q3: 2.21
Median: 1.83
WTRG: 1.83
Q1: 1.46
Min: 0.34

NiSource (NI) vs. Essential Utilities (WTRG): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for NiSource (NI) and Essential Utilities (WTRG)
Metric	NI	WTRG
P/E Ratio (TTM)	22.64	22.73
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.04	5.01
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.21	1.83
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-10.51%	-5.45%