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 better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, community ranking, media sentiment and dividends.

Which has better valuation & earnings, 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	$794.63M	3.34	$51.91M	$3.46	12.88
American States Water	$595.70M	4.72	$124.92M	$2.97	25.25

Does the media refer more to CWT or AWR?

In the previous week, California Water Service Group had 8 more articles in the media than American States Water. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for California Water Service Group and 4 mentions for American States Water. American States Water's average media sentiment score of 0.95 beat California Water Service Group's score of -0.34 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	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
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 CWT or AWR more profitable?

California Water Service Group has a net margin of 19.56% compared to American States Water's net margin of 19.26%. American States Water's return on equity of 13.53% 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	19.26%	13.53%	4.78%

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer CWT or AWR?

California Water Service Group received 52 more outperform votes than American States Water when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 53.45% of users gave California Water Service Group an outperform vote while only 50.67% of users gave American States Water an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
California Water Service Group	Outperform Votes 279 53.45%	Underperform Votes 243 46.55%
American States Water	Outperform Votes 227 50.67%	Underperform Votes 221 49.33%

Which has more risk & volatility, CWT or AWR?

California Water Service Group has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American States Water has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is CWT or AWR a better dividend stock?

California Water Service Group pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. American States Water pays an annual dividend of $1.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. California Water Service Group pays out 32.4% 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. California Water Service Group has raised its dividend for 58 consecutive years and American States Water has raised its dividend for 71 consecutive years. California Water Service Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts recommend CWT or AWR?

California Water Service Group presently has a consensus target price of $53.25, indicating a potential upside of 19.47%. American States Water has a consensus target price of $81.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.02%. Given California Water Service Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly 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)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
American States Water	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.50

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership 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 hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

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