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 profitability, media sentiment, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, community ranking, valuation and institutional ownership.

Does the media refer more to AWK or AWR?

In the previous week, American Water Works had 13 more articles in the media than American States Water. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for American Water Works and 7 mentions for American States Water. American Water Works' average media sentiment score of 0.92 beat American States Water's score of 0.75 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	12 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
American States Water	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community favor AWK or AWR?

American Water Works received 266 more outperform votes than American States Water when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.44% of users gave American Water Works an outperform vote while only 50.78% of users gave American States Water an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
American Water Works	Outperform Votes 493 64.44%	Underperform Votes 272 35.56%
American States Water	Outperform Votes 227 50.78%	Underperform Votes 220 49.22%

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 large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has stronger valuation & 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	$4.52B	5.46	$944M	$5.05	25.05
American States Water	$577.54M	5.20	$124.92M	$2.97	26.99

Which has more risk and volatility, AWK or AWR?

American Water Works has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American States Water has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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 2.3%. 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 States Water has increased its dividend for 71 consecutive years. American Water Works is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts rate AWK or AWR?

American Water Works presently has a consensus target price of $142.29, suggesting a potential upside of 12.47%. American States Water has a consensus target price of $86.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.27%. Given American Water Works' higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly 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	3 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.88
American States Water	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

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%

Summary

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