American Water Works (AWK) Competitors

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) and American States Water (NYSE:AWR) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, community ranking, profitability and dividends.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in AWK or AWR?

86.6% of American Water Works shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.2% of American States Water shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of American Water Works shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of American States Water shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is AWK or AWR more profitable?

American Water Works has a net margin of 21.77% compared to American States Water's net margin of 19.26%. American States Water's return on equity of 13.53% beat American Water Works' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Water Works	21.77%	9.75%	3.16%
American States Water	19.26%	13.53%	4.78%

Does the media favor AWK or AWR?

In the previous week, American Water Works had 10 more articles in the media than American States Water. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for American Water Works and 4 mentions for American States Water. American Water Works' average media sentiment score of 1.15 beat American States Water's score of 0.95 indicating that American Water Works is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
American Water Works	9 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
American States Water	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AWK or AWR a better dividend stock?

American Water Works pays an annual dividend of $3.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. American States Water pays an annual dividend of $1.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. American Water Works pays out 60.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. American States Water pays out 62.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. American Water Works has raised its dividend for 17 consecutive years and American States Water has raised its dividend for 71 consecutive years. American States Water is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer AWK or AWR?

American Water Works received 266 more outperform votes than American States Water when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.36% of users gave American Water Works an outperform vote while only 50.67% of users gave American States Water an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
American Water Works	Outperform Votes 493 64.36%	Underperform Votes 273 35.64%
American States Water	Outperform Votes 227 50.67%	Underperform Votes 221 49.33%

Which has more volatility & risk, AWK or AWR?

American Water Works has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American States Water has a beta of 0.53, suggesting that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate AWK or AWR?

American Water Works currently has a consensus target price of $141.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.30%. American States Water has a consensus target price of $81.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.02%. Given American Water Works' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe American Water Works is more favorable than American States Water.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Water Works	2 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
American States Water	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.50

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, AWK or AWR?

American Water Works has higher revenue and earnings than American States Water. American Water Works is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American States Water, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Water Works	$4.23B	5.83	$944M	$5.05	25.09
American States Water	$595.70M	4.72	$124.92M	$2.97	25.25

Summary

American Water Works beats American States Water on 15 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.