American Water Works (AWK) Competitors

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

Do institutionals and insiders believe in AWR or AWK?

75.2% of American States Water shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.6% of American Water Works shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of American States Water shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of American Water Works shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts prefer AWR or AWK?

American States Water presently has a consensus price target of $77.50, indicating a potential upside of 1.28%. American Water Works has a consensus price target of $143.22, indicating a potential upside of 3.95%. Given American Water Works' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, 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 States Water	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.50
American Water Works	3 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.80

Which has better earnings and valuation, AWR or AWK?

American Water Works has higher revenue and earnings than American States Water. American States Water is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Water Works, 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 States Water	$595.46M	4.95	$119.27M	$3.25	23.54
American Water Works	$4.68B	5.74	$1.05B	$5.49	25.10

Does the media favor AWR or AWK?

In the previous week, American Water Works had 24 more articles in the media than American States Water. MarketBeat recorded 29 mentions for American Water Works and 5 mentions for American States Water. American States Water's average media sentiment score of 1.62 beat American Water Works' score of 1.12 indicating that American States Water is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
American States Water	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
American Water Works	18 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AWR or AWK more profitable?

American Water Works has a net margin of 22.24% compared to American States Water's net margin of 20.22%. American States Water's return on equity of 13.45% beat American Water Works' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American States Water	20.22%	13.45%	4.92%
American Water Works	22.24%	10.35%	3.32%

Which has more risk and volatility, AWR or AWK?

American States Water has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Water Works has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is AWR or AWK a better dividend stock?

American States Water pays an annual dividend of $1.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Water Works pays an annual dividend of $3.31 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. American States Water pays out 57.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. American Water Works pays out 60.3% 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 raised its dividend for 71 consecutive years and American Water Works has raised its dividend for 18 consecutive years. American States Water is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

American Water Works beats American States Water on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.