AWK vs WTRG: Correlation
American Water Works (AWK) and Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) show a very strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.86.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are AWK and WTRG?
On 3 years of weekly data the AWK/WTRG correlation comes out at 0.86, very strong, meaning they move nearly in lockstep. The relationship has been stable: the 1-year correlation (0.90) sits close to the 3-year figure. The 5-year figure is 0.84, and annualized covariance runs at 347.0 %².
Few assets follow AWK as closely as WTRG, which ranks #1 of 49 tracked partners. Over the last 12 months WTRG came out ahead by 8.6 percentage points (-3.0% against +5.6%).
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
AWK vs WTRG: side by side
| AWK (American Water Works) | WTRG (Essential Utilities, Inc.) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | -3.0% | +5.6% |
| 5-year return | -16.6% | -5.2% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 20.7% | 19.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | -0.11 | -0.04 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -18.8% | -17.9% |
| Market cap | $27.2B | $11.5B |
| P/E (trailing) | 23.7 | 20.9 |
| Dividend yield | 2.46% | 3.36% |
| Sector / category | Utilities | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | AWK | WTRG |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -17.9% | -8.9% |
| 2023 | -11.7% | -19.4% |
| 2024 | -3.5% | +0.5% |
| 2025 | +7.4% | +9.4% |
| 2026 | +6.9% | +8.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are AWK and WTRG good diversifiers for each other?
No: a correlation of 0.86 means AWK and WTRG tend to fall together, which is precisely when diversification is supposed to help.
FAQ
What is the correlation between AWK and WTRG?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.86 over 3 years, with 0.90 over the last year and 0.84 over 5 years.
Is WTRG a good diversifier for AWK?
No: a correlation of 0.86 means AWK and WTRG tend to fall together, which is precisely when diversification is supposed to help.
What does a correlation of 0.86 mean?
A reading of 0.86 sits on a scale from −1 (opposite moves) through 0 (unrelated) to +1 (identical moves). Correlation captures direction, not magnitude or performance.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/awk-vs-wtrg.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/awk-vs-wtrg/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: AWK correlations · WTRG correlations
