Essential UtilitiesMEX:WTRG 71 Altman Z-Score is 0.95 as of Jul. 05, 2026, which is 17% below its 10-year median of 1.14. GuruFocus rates MEX:WTRG with a GF Score™ of 71/100. The stock has 8 warning signs investors should review. Among 499 Utilities - Regulated companies, Essential Utilities ranks worse than 68.54% on this metric.
The Altman Z-Score is a model designed to predict the likelihood of a company going bankrupt within the next two years. Created by American finance professor Edward Altman in 1968, the model is specifically designed for publicly traded manufacturing companies with assets greater than $1 million.
Warning Sign:
Altman Z-score of 0.96 is in distress zone. This implies bankruptcy possibility in the next two years.
Essential Utilities has a Altman Z-Score of 0.95, indicating it is in Distress Zones. This implies bankrupcy possibility in the next two years.
The zones of discrimination were as such:
When Altman Z-Score <= 1.8, it is in Distress Zones.
When Altman Z-Score >= 3, it is in Safe Zones.
When Altman Z-Score is between 1.8 and 3, it is in Grey Zones.
The historical rank and industry rank for Essential Utilities's Altman Z-Score or its related term are showing as below:
MEX:WTRG'
s Altman Z-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 0.9 Med: 1.14 Max: 1.75
Current: 0.96
During the past 13 years, Essential Utilities's highest Altman Z-Score was 1.75. The lowest was 0.90. And the median was 1.14.
X1: The Working Capital/Total Assets (WC/TA) ratio is a measure of the net liquid assets of the firm relative to the total capitalization. Working capital is defined as the difference between current assets and current liabilities. Ordinarily, a firm experiencing consistent operating losses will have shrinking current assets in relation to total assets. Altman found this one proved to be the most valuable liquidity ratio comparing with the current ratio and the quick ratio. This is however the least significant of the five factors.
X2: Retained Earnings/Total Assets: the RE/TA ratio measures the leverage of a firm. Retained earnings is the account which reports the total amount of reinvested earnings and/or losses of a firm over its entire life. Those firms with high RE, relative to TA, have financed their assets through retention of profits and have not utilized as much debt.
X3, Earnings Before Interest and Taxes/Total Assets (EBIT/TA): This ratio is a measure of the true productivity of the firm's assets, independent of any tax or leverage factors. Since a firm's ultimate existence is based on the earning power of its assets, this ratio appears to be particularly appropriate for studies dealing with corporate failure. This ratio continually outperforms other profitability measures, including cash flow.
X4, Market Value of Equity/Book Value of Total Liabilities (MVE/TL): The measure shows how much the firm's assets can decline in value (measured by market value of equity plus debt) before the liabilities exceed the assets and the firm becomes insolvent.
X5, Revenue/Total Assets (S/TA): The capital-turnover ratio is a standard financial ratio illustrating the sales generating ability of the firm's assets.
Altman Z-Score does not apply to financial companies.
Essential Utilities Altman Z-Score Related Terms
Essential Utilities Altman Z-Score Historical Data
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The historical data trend for Essential Utilities's Altman Z-Score can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
MEX:WTRG vs AWR, CWT, HTO: Altman Z-Score Comparison
For the Utilities - Regulated Water subindustry, Essential Utilities's Altman Z-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Altman Z-Score data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Essential Utilities Altman Z-Score vs Utilities - Regulated Industry
For the Utilities - Regulated industry and Utilities sector, Essential Utilities's Altman Z-Score distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Essential Utilities's Altman Z-Score falls into.
Altman Z-Score model is an accurate forecaster of failure up to two years prior to distress. It can be considered the assessment of the distress of industrial corporations.
Essential Utilities's Altman Z-Score for today is calculated with this formula:
Z
=
1.2
*
X1
+
1.4
*
X2
+
3.3
*
X3
+
0.6
*
X4
+
1.0
*
X5
=
1.2
*
-0.0016
+
1.4
*
0.1168
+
3.3
*
0.0472
+
0.6
*
0.842
+
1.0
*
0.1306
=
0.95
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency. GuruFocus does not calculate Altman Z-Score when X4 or X5 value is 0.
Essential Utilities (MEX:WTRG) has a Altman Z-Score of 0.95 as of Jul. 05, 2026. The Altman Z-score measures a company's bankruptcy risk. View historical data on Essential Utilities and its competitors. This is 17% below median its historical median of 1.14. Over the past decade, Essential Utilities' Altman Z-Score has ranged from 0.90 to 1.75. According to the industry distribution chart, Essential Utilities ranks #342 out of 499 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry, placing it in the top 68.5%.
Is Essential Utilities' Altman Z-Score too high?
Essential Utilities' current Altman Z-Score of 0.95 is 17% below median its 10-year median of 1.14. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 0.90 to a high of 1.75. The Utilities - Regulated industry median Altman Z-Score is 1.27. Essential Utilities' value of 0.95 is 25.2% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Essential Utilities ranks #342 out of 499 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, Essential Utilities has a GF Score™ of 71/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Essential Utilities' Altman Z-Score compare to AWR and CWT?
According to the Utilities - Regulated industry distribution chart, Essential Utilities ranks #342 out of 499 companies for Altman Z-Score. This places Essential Utilities in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Altman Z-Score is 1.27. Essential Utilities' value of 0.95 is 25.2% below this benchmark. Historically, Essential Utilities' own Altman Z-Score has ranged from 0.90 to 1.75 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 1.14 vs. the industry median of 1.27, Essential Utilities has consistently been below the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Altman Z-Score for an Utilities - Regulated company?
The median Altman Z-Score among Utilities - Regulated companies is 1.27, based on 499 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Altman Z-Score significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Altman Z-Score should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Essential Utilities's current Altman Z-Score of 0.95 is 25.2% below the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Altman Z-Score mean?
A high Altman Z-Score can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The Altman Z-score measures a company's bankruptcy risk. View historical data on Essential Utilities and its competitors. For the Utilities - Regulated industry, the median Altman Z-Score is 1.27 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Essential Utilities's current Altman Z-Score is 0.95, which is 17% below median its own 10-year median of 1.14. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Essential Utilities stock overvalued right now?
Essential Utilities (MEX:WTRG) has a current Altman Z-Score of 0.95. The current Altman Z-Score is 0.95, which is 17% below median its 10-year median of 1.14 and 25.2% below the Utilities - Regulated industry median of 1.27. Essential Utilities' overall GF Score™ is 71/100 with 8 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Altman Z-Score calculated?
Altman Z-Score is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Essential Utilities (MEX:WTRG), the current Altman Z-Score is 0.95 as of Jul. 05, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Essential Utilities is a Pennsylvania-based holding company for US water, wastewater, and natural gas distribution utilities. The company's water business serves 3 million people in eight states. Its largest service territory is in Pennsylvania, primarily suburban Philadelphia. Its Peoples subsidiary serves more than 740,000 gas distribution customers in Pennsylvania and Kentucky. It completed the sale of its West Virginia gas utility and the bulk of its nonregulated assets in 2024. Essential shareholders would own a 31% stake in American Water Works if the proposed all-stock merger closes in 2027.
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