Updated on May 27th, 2025 by Bob Ciura
Water is one of the basic necessities of human life. Life as we know it cannot exist without water. For this simple reason, water may be the most valuable commodity on Earth.
It is only natural for investors to consider purchasing water stocks. There are many different companies that can give investors exposure to the water business, such as water utilities. Some other companies are engaged in water purification.
In all, we have compiled a list of nearly 50 stocks that are in the business of water. The list was derived from two of the top water industry exchange-traded funds:
- Invesco Water Resources ETF (PHO)
- First Trust ISE Water Index Fund (FIW)
You can download a spreadsheet with all 46 water stocks (along with metrics that matter like price-to-earnings ratios and dividend yields) by clicking on the link below:
In addition to the Excel spreadsheet above, this article covers our top 7 water stocks today, that we cover in the Sure Analysis Research Database.
This article will discuss the top 7 water stocks according to their expected returns over the next five years, ranked in order of lowest to highest.
Table of Contents
- Water Stock #7: Lindsay Corporation (LNN)
- Water Stock #6: Stantec Inc. (STN)
- Water Stock #5: IDEX Corporation (IEX)
- Water Stock #4: Masco Corporation (MAS)
- Water Stock #3: Tetra Tech (TTEK)
- Water Stock #2: Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS)
- Water Stock #1: H2O America (HTO)
Water Stock #7: Lindsay Corporation (LNN)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 8.8%
Lindsay Corporation provides water management and road infrastructure services in the United States and internationally. The business’s irrigation segment provides irrigation solutions for farmers and contributed 85% of sales in fiscal year 2024, the infrastructure segment helps with road and bridge repairs and contributed the other 15%.
On April 3rd, 2025, Lindsay reported its Q2 2025 results for the period ending February 28th, 2025. The business saw diluted earnings-per-share of $2.44 which improved from the $1.64 reported the same quarter of last year and dramatically exceeded expectations. Revenues surged 23% year-over-year to $187 million.
These results, at first glance, seem extraordinary. However, they are likely in part an artifact of the tariff situation rather than actual underlying strength. To that point, Lindsay’s international revenues skyrocketed 42% while U.S. sales dropped 7%.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on LNN (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #6: Stantec Inc. (STN)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 9.5%
Stantec Inc. provides professional consulting services in the field of infrastructure and facilities internationally. This includes services in engineering, architecture, interior design, environmental sciences, project management, and project economics.
The company also undertakes water provision, transportation, and public works such as transportation planning and traffic engineering.
Finally, it serves the urban regeneration, infrastructure, education, and waste industries. Stantec generated $4.1 billion in revenues last year and is based in Edmonton, Canada. All figures in this report have been converted to U.S. dollars.
On May 14th, 2025, Stantec reported its Q1 results for the period ending March 31st, 2025. For the quarter, net revenues were $1.12 billion, up 13.3% year-over-year due to 5.9% organic growth and 3.2% acquisition-driven growth.
Adjusted net income increased by 28.9% to about $95.6 million, with a 10-bps improvement in project margins to 54.3%. On a per-share basis, adjusted net income was $0.83, up 28.9% year-over-year.
Stantec’s contract backlog increased to $5.71 billion, up 12.8% year-over-year.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on STN (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #5: IDEX Corporation (IEX)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 9.5%
IDEX Corporation (IEX) is a company that sells industrial products in over 100 countries around the world. IEX operates the following three segments. The Fluid & Metering Technologies (FMT) segment designs, produces, and distributes flow meters, injectors, small volume provers, positive displacement pumps, and valves.
The Health & Science Technologies segment designs, produces, and distributes powder and liquid processing technologies, drying systems, biocompatible medical devices and implantables, optical components and coatings, and laboratory and commercial equipment.
The Fire & Safety/Diversified Products segment designs, produces, and distributes firefighting pumps, valves and controls, lifting bags, and rescue tools.
On May 1st, IDEX shared its first-quarter results for the period ending March 31st, 2025. The company’s net sales edged 1.7% higher over the year-ago period to $814.3 million during the quarter. That was largely due to the acquisition of Mott Corporation last September.
Organic sales fell 1% year-over-year in the quarter, which was due to weakness in the semiconductor, agriculture, and chemical and energy businesses.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on IEX (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #4: Masco Corporation (MAS)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 11.5%
Masco Corporation is a world leader in the design, manufacture, and distribution of a wide variety of home improvement and building products.
Its leading brands include Behr paint, Hotspring spas, Kichler decorative and outdoor lighting, and Delta faucets, bath, and shower fixtures. Masco also sells branded decorative and functional hardware and waterproofing products.
The company has two reportable segments, including Plumbing Products and Decorative Architectural Products. Masco’s customers include plumbing, heating, and hardware wholesalers as well as hardware stores, home centers, and online retailers.
On February 11th, 2025, Masco raised its quarterly dividend 6.9% to $0.31.
On April 23rd, 2025, Masco reported first quarter earnings results. Revenue of $1.8 billion declined 6% from the prior year, which missed estimates by $30 million. Adjusted earnings-per-share of $0.87 compared to $0.93 in the prior year, but this was $0.04 below expectations.
For the quarter, revenue for the Plumbing Products segment fell 1% to $1.19 billion while Decorative Architectural Products declined 16% to $617 million. By regions, North America decreased 7% while international was flat.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on MAS (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #3: Tetra Tech (TTEK)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 12.4%
Tetra Tech is a leading provider of consulting and engineering services, specializing in water, environment, sustainable infrastructure, and renewable energy.
The company operates through two business segments: Government Services Group (GSG) and Commercial/International Services Group (CIG). GSG offers consulting and engineering solutions to federal, state, and local governments, while CIG serves private sector clients and international development agencies.
On May 7th, 2025, Tetra Tech raised its dividend by 12.1% to a quarterly rate of 12.1%. On the same day, Tetra Tech posted its FQ2 results for the period ending March 30th, 2025.
The company posted record quarterly revenues of $1.32 billion, up 6% from last year. Its adjusted operating margin fell slightly to 11.8%, down from 12.0% last year. Despite this, adjusted EPS came in at $0.33, up 18% compared to last year. For the year, management expects adjusted EPS to range from $1.42 to $1.52.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on TTEK (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #2: Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 15.8%
Advanced Drainage Systems is a leading manufacturer of innovative stormwater and onsite septic wastewater solutions. The company’s products include single, double, and triple-wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipes, septic tanks and accessories, waterquality filters and separators, PVC hubs, and stainless-steel bands.
Earlier this month, the most recent deal announced was the acquisition of River Valley Pipe, a privately owned pipe manufacturing company located in the Midwest.
On May 15th, ADS shared its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results for the period ended March 31st, 2025. The company’s net sales declined by 5.8% over the year-ago period to $615.8 million in the quarter. ADS’ Pipe segment net sales dropped by 10.7% year-over-year to $330 million during the quarter.
The International segment net sales fell by 24.2% over the year-ago period to $31.4 million for the quarter. ADS’ Allied Products & Other segment experienced a 3.6% year-over-year decrease in net sales to $150.4 million in the quarter.
These more than countered the 12.2% rise in Infiltrator Water Technologies segment net sales to $140.1 million during the quarter. ADS’ adjusted diluted EPS declined by 16.3% year-over-year to $1.03 for the quarter.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on WMS (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #1: SJW Group (SJW)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 18.6%
H2O America, formerly SJW Group, is a water utility company that produces, purchases, stores, purifies and distributes water to consumers and businesses in the Silicon Valley area of California, the area north of San Antonio, Texas, Connecticut, and Maine.
It has a small real estate division that owns and develops properties for residential and warehouse customers in California and Tennessee. The company generates about $800 million in annual revenues.
On April 28th, 2025, the company reported first quarter results. For the quarter, revenue improved 18.2% to $176.6 million, which beat estimates by $16.1 million. Earnings-per-share of $0.50 compared favorably to earnings-per-share of $0.36 in the prior year and was $0.14 more than expected.
For the quarter, higher water rates overall added $17.2 million to results and higher customer usage added $1.0 million. Operating production expenses totaled $131.7 million, which was an 8% increase from the prior year. Most of the increase in expenses was once again related to higher water production costs.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on HTO (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Final Thoughts
Water could be one of the biggest investing themes over the next several decades. An increasing global population is only going to cause demand for water to rise in the future.
And, given the fact that water is a necessity of human life, demand for water should hold up extremely well, even during the worst recessions.
Therefore, young investors with a longer time horizon such as Millennials should consider water stocks. These factors make water stocks appealing for risk-averse investors looking for stability from their stock investments.
Not all the water stocks on this list receive buy recommendations at this time, as some appear to be overvalued today. But all the water stocks on this list pay dividends and are likely to increase their dividends for many years in the future.
Additional Resources
At Sure Dividend, we often advocate for investing in companies with a high probability of increasing their dividends each and every year.
If that strategy appeals to you, it may be useful to browse through the following databases of dividend growth stocks:
- The Dividend Aristocrats List: S&P 500 stocks with 25+ years of dividend increases.
- The Dividend Kings List is even more exclusive than the Dividend Aristocrats. It is comprised of 55 stocks with 50+ years of consecutive dividend increases.
- The High Dividend Stocks List: stocks that appeal to investors interested in the highest yields of 5% or more.
- The Monthly Dividend Stocks List: stocks that pay dividends every month, for 12 dividend payments per year.
The major domestic stock market indices are another solid resource for finding investment ideas. Sure Dividend compiles the following stock market databases and updates them monthly: