WTRG vs BEN Comparison

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.

Franklin Resources provides investment services for individual and institutional investors. At the end of July 2025, Franklin had $1.617 trillion in managed assets, composed primarily of equity (41%), fixed-income (27%), multi-asset/balanced (11%) funds, alternatives (16%) and money market funds (5%). Distribution tends to be weighted between retail investors (56% of AUM) and institutional accounts (41%), with high-net-worth clients accounting for the remainder. Franklin is one of the more global of the US-based asset managers we cover, with 31% of its assets under management invested in global/international strategies and just as much sourced from clients domiciled outside the United States.