American Water Works (AWK) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate CWCO or AWK?

Consolidated Water currently has a consensus price target of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.86%. American Water Works has a consensus price target of $143.57, indicating a potential upside of 2.88%. Given Consolidated Water's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Consolidated Water is more favorable than American Water Works.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Consolidated Water	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
American Water Works	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has more volatility & risk, CWCO or AWK?

Consolidated Water has a beta of 0.53, suggesting that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Water Works has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is CWCO or AWK a better dividend stock?

Consolidated Water pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. American Water Works pays an annual dividend of $3.31 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Consolidated Water pays out 34.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. American Water Works pays out 59.6% 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. Consolidated Water has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and American Water Works has increased its dividend for 18 consecutive years. American Water Works is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media prefer CWCO or AWK?

In the previous week, American Water Works had 22 more articles in the media than Consolidated Water. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for American Water Works and 14 mentions for Consolidated Water. American Water Works' average media sentiment score of 0.84 beat Consolidated Water's score of 0.75 indicating that American Water Works is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Consolidated Water	2 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
American Water Works	17 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders believe in CWCO or AWK?

55.2% of Consolidated Water shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.6% of American Water Works shares are held by institutional investors. 6.3% of Consolidated Water shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of American Water Works shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is CWCO or AWK more profitable?

American Water Works has a net margin of 21.91% compared to Consolidated Water's net margin of 12.24%. American Water Works' return on equity of 10.34% beat Consolidated Water's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Consolidated Water	12.24%	7.77%	6.84%
American Water Works	21.91%	10.34%	3.29%

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, CWCO or AWK?

American Water Works has higher revenue and earnings than Consolidated Water. Consolidated 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
Consolidated Water	$133.97M	4.07	$28.24M	$1.62	21.13
American Water Works	$4.94B	5.51	$1.05B	$5.55	25.14

Summary

American Water Works beats Consolidated Water on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.