AQN vs AWK vs GWRS Stock Comparison

Algonquin Power & Utilities, American Water Works Company and Global Water Resources Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

American Water Works Company leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (American Water Works Company 7, Algonquin Power & Utilities 3, Global Water Resources 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAQNAWKGWRSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.14B $27.46B $225.07M AWK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 29.7x 24.3x 71.8x AWK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.8x 24.8x 77.9x AQN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.7% +6.9% +10.8% GWRS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.5% 21.3% 5.2% AWK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.4% 6.2% 2.8% AWK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 7.0x 5.5x 5.2x GWRS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.07% 0.02% 0.00% AQN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.9% +0.1% -26.1% AWK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -18.0%/yr -3.9%/yr -16.0%/yr AWK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.7% 22.8% 37.4% AWK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 54/100 10/100 AQN

Percentile Scorecard

AQNAWKGWRS

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAQNAWKGWRS
Valuation 76 #17 of 67 8 #62 of 67 2 #66 of 67
Growth 69 #21 of 65 59 #27 of 65 11 #58 of 65
Profitability 67 #22 of 64 95 #4 of 64 2 #63 of 64
Financial Health 38 #40 of 64 49 #33 of 64 22 #50 of 64
Shareholder Returns 36 #43 of 67 58 #29 of 67 14 #58 of 67
Overall 57 54 10
  • AQN ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • AWK ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • GWRS ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAQNAWKGWRSSPY
1 month +7.4%+8.2%-3.8% -0.8%
3 months -11.0%+5.3%+6.0% +3.5%
6 months -14.9%+7.4%+4.6% +7.0%
Year to date -12.8%+8.6%-7.8% +12.2%
1 year -6.9%+0.1%-26.1% +13.0%
3 years +6.6%+21.7%-21.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +2.1%+6.8%-7.9% +23.1%
5 years -62.8%-18.2%-58.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year -18.0%-3.9%-16.0% +11.0%
10 years -39.0%+95.4%+0.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year -4.8%+6.9%+0.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAQNAWKGWRSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.7%22.8%37.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.4%21.2%38.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.23-0.460.43 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.270.00-0.70 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.3%-39.7%-65.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -23.2%-1.1%-25.5% -1.8%
52-week high $6.98$143.25$10.45 $779.14
52-week low $4.99$121.13$6.66 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAQNAWKGWRS
P/E now vs peer median 29.6xmedian 20.8x 24.6xmedian 20.8x 71.5xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 2.9x 5.3xmedian 2.9x 3.7xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.4xmedian 13.1x 15.2xmedian 13.1x 14.1xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.8xmedian 36.7x -27.3xmedian 36.7x -9.2xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.7x 2.4xmedian 1.7x 2.6xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.84median 2.23 3.13median 2.23 -2.65median 2.23

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAQNAWKGWRS
Revenue $1.21B $5.28B $60.11M
Gross profit -$435.80M – –
Operating income $525.40M $1.95B $8.18M
Net income $167.50M $1.13B $3.14M
Free cash flow $159.40M -$1.03B -$24.35M
EPS (diluted) $0.18 $5.76 $0.11
Cash & equivalents $55.00M $191.00M $1.46M
Total debt $6.64B $15.99B $506.95M
Shares (diluted) 772.41M 196.00M 28.81M
Enterprise value $3.94B $26.87B $202.48M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAQNAWKGWRS
P/E 29.6x 24.6x 71.5x
P/FCF 25.8x -27.3x -9.2x
P/Operating cash flow 4.0x 12.1x 10.9x
P/S 3.4x 5.3x 3.7x
P/B 0.8x 2.4x 2.6x
P/Tangible book 0.8x 2.4x 2.8x
EV/EBITDA 11.4x 15.2x 14.1x
EV/EBIT 20.4x 22.5x 43.4x
EV/Revenue 8.9x 8.3x 5.9x
EV/FCF 67.1x -42.7x -14.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.4x 18.8x 17.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.84 3.13 -2.65

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAQNAWKGWRS
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.7% 6.9% 10.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -5.3% 9.3% 7.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.7% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.1% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 14.0% 8.3% -10.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -5.8% 11.0% -8.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 112.7% 4.2% -43.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 52.3% 8.1% -22.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 153.3% 3.6% -46.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 35.1% 7.9% -27.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.7% 19.7% 20.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.6% 12.8% -5.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -45.1% -13.4% 36.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.6% -7.5% -39.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAQNAWKGWRS
Gross margin -36.1% – –
EBITDA margin 77.8% 54.6% 41.9%
Operating margin 43.6% 36.9% 13.6%
Pretax margin 16.2% 27.3% 7.0%
Net margin 11.5% 21.3% 5.2%
FCF margin 13.2% -19.5% -40.5%
Operating cash flow margin 85.2% 44.2% 34.1%
Return on equity 1.5% 9.9% 3.7%
Return on assets – 3.1% 0.6%
Return on invested capital 3.4% 6.2% 2.8%
Return on capital employed – 6.0% 1.7%
Asset turnover – 0.1x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 6.1x 2.1x 6.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% – 1.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAQNAWKGWRS
Debt / assets 47.7% 43.9% 27.2%
Debt / equity 1.3x 1.4x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 7.0x 5.5x 5.2x
Debt / FCF 41.6x -15.5x -5.4x
Liabilities / assets 64.3% 68.0% 82.5%
Equity / assets 35.7% 32.0% 17.5%
Interest coverage 1.9x 3.0x 1.3x
Current ratio 0.9x 0.5x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.3x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 0.18 1.06 0.50

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAQNAWKGWRS
Dividend yield 5.2% 2.4% 4.4%
Net buyback yield -0.2% – -5.8%
Shareholder yield 5.0% 2.4% -1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 180.2% 58.3% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 189.3% -63.9% –
Dividend growth (1Y) -30.8% 8.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -17.9% 9.9% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAQNAWKGWRS
Forward P/E 15.8xFY2026 24.8xFY2026 77.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.34FY2026 $5.72FY2026 $0.10FY2026
EPS growth, next FY 0.0%FY2026 +0.5%FY2026 -28.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +17.6% +10.8% +30.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.45BFY2026 $5.14BFY2026 $56.49MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.9%FY2026 +0.0%FY2026 +1.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.7% +9.9% +16.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAQNAWKGWRS
Held by institutions 68.7% 100.0% 26.0%
Institutions holding 241 1,128 108
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.1% +8.0% +4.4%
Institutions buying 129 530 64
Institutions selling 67 416 23
Buyers to sellers 1.93 1.27 2.78

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AQNAWKGWRS
AQN 1.00 0.19 0.11
AWK 0.19 1.00 0.21
GWRS 0.11 0.21 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AQN, AWK and GWRS?

American Water Works Company (AWK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) $4.14B, American Water Works Company (AWK) $27.46B, Global Water Resources (GWRS) $225.07M.

Which stock is cheaper, AQN, AWK and GWRS?

American Water Works Company (AWK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 29.7x, American Water Works Company (AWK) 24.3x, Global Water Resources (GWRS) 71.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) is cheapest (Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 15.8x, American Water Works Company (AWK) 24.8x, Global Water Resources (GWRS) 77.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Global Water Resources (GWRS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) +5.7%, American Water Works Company (AWK) +6.9%, Global Water Resources (GWRS) +10.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

American Water Works Company (AWK) has the highest net margin (Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 11.5%, American Water Works Company (AWK) 21.3%, Global Water Resources (GWRS) 5.2%). On return on invested capital, American Water Works Company (AWK) leads (Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 3.4%, American Water Works Company (AWK) 6.2%, Global Water Resources (GWRS) 2.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Water Works Company (AWK) returned the most: Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) -6.9%, American Water Works Company (AWK) +0.1%, Global Water Resources (GWRS) -26.1%. Over five years, American Water Works Company (AWK) compounded fastest (Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) -18.0%/yr, American Water Works Company (AWK) -3.9%/yr, Global Water Resources (GWRS) -16.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) has the highest dividend yield: Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 0.07%, American Water Works Company (AWK) 0.02%, Global Water Resources (GWRS) 0.00%. Global Water Resources (GWRS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, American Water Works Company (AWK) has been the steadiest (Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 25.7%, American Water Works Company (AWK) 22.8%, Global Water Resources (GWRS) 37.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AQN, AWK and GWRS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, American Water Works Company (AWK) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.