AWK vs AQN vs GWRS Stock Comparison

American Water Works Company, Algonquin Power & Utilities 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 8 of the 12 questions below (American Water Works Company 8, Algonquin Power & Utilities 2, Global Water Resources 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAWKAQNGWRSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $28.16B $4.12B $224.32M AWK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.6x 29.6x 71.5x AWK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.7x 15.8x 77.9x AQN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.9% +5.7% +10.8% GWRS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.3% 11.5% 5.2% AWK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.2% 3.4% 2.8% AWK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.5x 7.0x 5.2x GWRS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.44% 5.22% 4.38% AQN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +0.1% -6.9% -26.1% AWK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.9%/yr -18.0%/yr -16.0%/yr AWK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 22.8% 25.7% 37.4% AWK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 56/100 11/100 AWK

Percentile Scorecard

AWKAQNGWRS

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

AxisAWKAQNGWRS
Valuation 11 #33 of 37 72 #11 of 37 3 #36 of 37
Growth 56 #16 of 35 68 #12 of 35 15 #30 of 35
Profitability 94 #3 of 35 59 #15 of 35 3 #34 of 35
Financial Health 71 #11 of 36 46 #20 of 36 26 #27 of 36
Shareholder Returns 53 #18 of 37 33 #25 of 37 8 #34 of 37
Overall 57 56 11
  • AWK ranked among 37 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • AQN ranked among 37 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • GWRS ranked among 37 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

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

Risk

MeasureAWKAQNGWRSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.8%25.7%37.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.2%28.4%38.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.460.230.43 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.00-0.27-0.70 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.7%-73.3%-65.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.1%-23.2%-25.5% -1.8%
52-week high $143.25$6.98$10.45 $779.14
52-week low $121.13$4.99$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.

MultipleAWKAQNGWRS
P/E now vs peer median 24.6xmedian 21.0x 29.6xmedian 21.0x 71.5xmedian 21.0x
P/S now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 3.0x 3.4xmedian 3.0x 3.7xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 12.8x 11.4xmedian 12.8x 14.1xmedian 12.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median -27.3xmedian 31.2x 25.8xmedian 31.2x -9.2xmedian 31.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 1.9x 0.8xmedian 1.9x 2.6xmedian 1.9x
PEG now vs peer median 3.13median 2.27 0.84median 2.27 -2.65median 2.27

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 monthsAWKAQNGWRS
Revenue $5.28B $1.21B $60.11M
Gross profit – -$435.80M –
Operating income $1.95B $525.40M $8.18M
Net income $1.13B $167.50M $3.14M
Free cash flow -$1.03B $159.40M -$24.35M
EPS (diluted) $5.76 $0.18 $0.11
Cash & equivalents $191.00M $55.00M $1.46M
Total debt $15.99B $6.64B $506.95M
Shares (diluted) 196.00M 772.41M 28.81M
Enterprise value $27.57B $4.28B $201.72M

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

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

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

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.

ConsensusAWKAQNGWRS
Forward P/E 24.7xFY2026 15.8xFY2026 77.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.73FY2026 $0.34FY2026 $0.10FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.7%FY2026 0.0%FY2026 -28.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.6% +17.6% +30.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.14BFY2026 $2.45BFY2026 $56.49MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.0%FY2026 +0.9%FY2026 +1.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.9% +14.7% +16.8%

Institutional Ownership

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

AWKAQNGWRS
AWK 1.00 0.18 0.21
AQN 0.18 1.00 0.11
GWRS 0.21 0.11 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry
AWK · Water Utilities

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AWK, AQN and GWRS?

American Water Works Company (AWK) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Water Works Company (AWK) $28.16B, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) $4.12B, Global Water Resources (GWRS) $224.32M.

Which stock is cheaper, AWK, AQN and GWRS?

American Water Works Company (AWK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Water Works Company (AWK) 24.6x, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 29.6x, Global Water Resources (GWRS) 71.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) is cheapest (American Water Works Company (AWK) 24.7x, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 15.8x, 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: American Water Works Company (AWK) +6.9%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) +5.7%, Global Water Resources (GWRS) +10.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Water Works Company (AWK) returned the most: American Water Works Company (AWK) +0.1%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) -6.9%, Global Water Resources (GWRS) -26.1%. Over five years, American Water Works Company (AWK) compounded fastest (American Water Works Company (AWK) -3.9%/yr, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) -18.0%/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: American Water Works Company (AWK) 2.44%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 5.22%, Global Water Resources (GWRS) 4.38%.

Which stock is riskier?

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

Which is the better stock, AWK, AQN 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 8. 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.