American States Water (AWR) Competitors

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) and American States Water (NYSE:AWR) are both mid-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, risk and community ranking.

Does the media prefer CWT or AWR?

In the previous week, California Water Service Group had 10 more articles in the media than American States Water. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for California Water Service Group and 5 mentions for American States Water. American States Water's average media sentiment score of 1.58 beat California Water Service Group's score of 0.85 indicating that American States Water is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
California Water Service Group	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
American States Water	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Do institutionals and insiders believe in CWT or AWR?

82.8% of California Water Service Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.2% of American States Water shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of California Water Service Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of American States Water shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is CWT or AWR more profitable?

American States Water has a net margin of 20.03% compared to California Water Service Group's net margin of 19.56%. American States Water's return on equity of 13.63% beat California Water Service Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
California Water Service Group	19.56%	13.24%	4.18%
American States Water	20.03%	13.63%	4.89%

Does the MarketBeat Community favor CWT or AWR?

California Water Service Group received 55 more outperform votes than American States Water when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 53.31% of users gave California Water Service Group an outperform vote while only 50.33% of users gave American States Water an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
California Water Service Group	Outperform Votes 282 53.31%	Underperform Votes 247 46.69%
American States Water	Outperform Votes 227 50.33%	Underperform Votes 224 49.67%

Is CWT or AWR a better dividend stock?

California Water Service Group pays an annual dividend of $1.20 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%. California Water Service Group pays out 36.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. American States Water pays out 58.7% 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. California Water Service Group has increased its dividend for 59 consecutive years and American States Water has increased its dividend for 71 consecutive years. California Water Service Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, CWT or AWR?

American States Water has lower revenue, but higher earnings than California Water Service Group. California Water Service Group 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
California Water Service Group	$1.04B	2.92	$51.91M	$3.27	15.57
American States Water	$595.46M	5.15	$119.27M	$3.17	25.13

Do analysts rate CWT or AWR?

California Water Service Group presently has a consensus target price of $54.67, suggesting a potential upside of 7.34%. American States Water has a consensus target price of $74.00, suggesting a potential downside of 7.12%. Given California Water Service Group's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe California Water Service Group is more favorable than American States Water.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
California Water Service Group	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.25
American States Water	2 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.00

Which has more risk and volatility, CWT or AWR?

California Water Service Group has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American States Water has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

California Water Service Group beats American States Water on 12 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.