CDZI vs VLTO vs AWK Stock Comparison

Cadiz, Veralto and American Water Works Company Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CDZI Cadiz Inc
$4.34 +18.9% 1M -17.2% 1Y
Market cap
$391.70M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$14.34M
Div. yield
–
Water Treatment Industrials
VLTO Veralto Corp
$103.34 +6.4% 1M -1.3% 1Y
Market cap
$25.28B
P/E
25.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.70B
Div. yield
–
Water Treatment Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

American Water Works Company leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (American Water Works Company 7, Veralto 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCDZIVLTOAWKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $391.70M $25.28B $27.67B AWK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -9.6x 25.6x 24.5x AWK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 22.8x 24.8x VLTO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -4.8% +6.2% +6.9% AWK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -286.1% 17.3% 21.3% AWK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 17.4% 6.2% VLTO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.9x 5.5x VLTO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -17.2% -1.3% +0.1% AWK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.4%/yr — -3.9%/yr AWK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 66.6% 23.5% 22.8% AWK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 24/100 75/100 54/100 VLTO

Percentile Scorecard

CDZIVLTOAWK

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

AxisCDZIVLTOAWK
Valuation 20 #17 of 21 80 #5 of 21 8 #62 of 67
Growth 39 #12 of 19 72 #6 of 19 59 #27 of 65
Profitability 19 #14 of 17 100 #1 of 17 95 #4 of 64
Financial Health 19 #18 of 22 52 #11 of 22 49 #33 of 64
Shareholder Returns – 70 #4 of 11 58 #29 of 67
Overall 24 75 54
  • CDZI ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • VLTO ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • AWK ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCDZIVLTOAWKSPY
1 month +18.9%+6.4%+8.2% -0.8%
3 months +40.9%+9.6%+5.3% +3.5%
6 months -3.6%+18.6%+7.4% +7.0%
Year to date -22.6%+3.6%+8.6% +12.2%
1 year -17.2%-1.3%+0.1% +13.0%
3 years +57.2%+52.0%+21.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +16.3%+15.0%+6.8% +23.1%
5 years -28.1%—-18.2% +68.6%
5 years, per year -6.4%—-3.9% +11.0%
10 years -40.5%—+95.4% +258.0%
10 years, per year -5.1%—+6.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCDZIVLTOAWKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 66.6%23.5%22.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 64.5%22.4%21.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.430.23-0.46 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.26-0.050.00 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -75.0%-27.6%-39.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -37.3%-1.5%-1.1% -1.8%
52-week high $6.92$104.87$143.25 $779.14
52-week low $2.98$82.23$121.13 $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.

MultipleCDZIVLTOAWK
P/E now vs peer median -8.9xmedian 25.6x 25.6xmedian 25.6x 24.6xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 25.5xmedian 2.5x 4.4xmedian 2.5x 5.3xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 19.1x 19.1xmedian 19.1x 15.2xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 25.2x 24.1xmedian 25.2x -27.3xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 78.3xmedian 2.0x 8.1xmedian 2.0x 2.4xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 2.12median 1.54 5.72median 1.54 3.13median 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 monthsCDZIVLTOAWK
Revenue $14.34M $5.70B $5.28B
Gross profit $4.25M $3.43B –
Operating income -$26.90M $1.30B $1.95B
Net income -$35.98M $988.00M $1.13B
Free cash flow – $1.05B -$1.03B
R&D – $276.00M –
EPS (diluted) $-1,199.69 $4.02 $5.76
Cash & equivalents $5.32M $2.12B $191.00M
Total debt $278.50M $3.38B $15.99B
Shares (diluted) 34.19K 245.80M 196.00M
Enterprise value $360.15M $17.92B $27.08B

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
MetricCDZIVLTOAWK
P/E -8.9x 25.6x 24.6x
P/FCF – 24.1x -27.3x
P/Operating cash flow – 22.9x 12.1x
P/S 25.5x 4.4x 5.3x
P/B 78.3x 8.1x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 78.3x 11.1x 2.4x
EV/EBITDA – 19.1x 15.2x
EV/EBIT -16.6x 20.5x 22.5x
EV/Revenue 31.2x 4.7x 8.3x
EV/FCF – 25.3x -42.7x
EV/Operating cash flow – 24.0x 18.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.12 5.72 3.13

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCDZIVLTOAWK
Revenue growth (1Y) -4.8% 6.2% 6.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 89.3% 4.8% 9.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -12.7% 6.8% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 97.5% 6.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -8.9% 3.5% 8.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -12.0% 3.7% 11.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -9.9% 10.6% 4.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -4.9% 4.4% 8.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -8.4% 12.5% 3.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -4.2% 4.5% 7.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 9.8% 19.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 12.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 11.0% -13.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – -7.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCDZIVLTOAWK
Gross margin 29.6% 60.2% –
EBITDA margin – 24.4% 54.6%
Operating margin -187.6% 22.7% 36.9%
Pretax margin -250.5% 21.2% 27.3%
Net margin -286.1% 17.3% 21.3%
FCF margin – 18.4% -19.5%
Operating cash flow margin – 19.4% 44.2%
Return on equity -257.3% 32.4% 9.9%
Return on assets -26.1% 12.2% 3.1%
Return on invested capital – 17.4% 6.2%
Return on capital employed -21.0% 21.4% 6.0%
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.7x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.1x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.3% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCDZIVLTOAWK
Debt / assets 64.5% 39.5% 43.9%
Debt / equity 18.6x 1.1x 1.4x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.9x 5.5x
Debt / FCF – 3.2x -15.5x
Liabilities / assets 96.5% 63.8% 68.0%
Equity / assets 3.5% 36.2% 32.0%
Interest coverage -2.9x 14.1x 3.0x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.8x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.5x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.5x 1.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score -6.25 4.52 1.06

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCDZIVLTOAWK
Dividend yield – 0.5% 2.4%
Net buyback yield – 1.7% –
Shareholder yield – 2.2% 2.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 58.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – -63.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 8.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 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.

ConsensusCDZIVLTOAWK
Forward P/E – 22.8xFY2026 24.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.54FY2026 $4.54FY2026 $5.72FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +16.4%FY2026 +0.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +7.9% +10.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.61MFY2026 $5.70BFY2026 $5.14BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -47.2%FY2026 +3.7%FY2026 +0.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +109.5% +16.5% +9.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCDZIVLTOAWK
Held by institutions 46.7% 96.1% 100.0%
Institutions holding 117 974 1,128
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.0% +3.3% +8.0%
Institutions buying 54 399 530
Institutions selling 39 384 416
Buyers to sellers 1.38 1.04 1.27

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.

CDZIVLTOAWK
CDZI 1.00 0.01 0.05
VLTO 0.01 1.00 0.27
AWK 0.05 0.27 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CDZI, VLTO and AWK?

American Water Works Company (AWK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cadiz (CDZI) $391.70M, Veralto (VLTO) $25.28B, American Water Works Company (AWK) $27.67B.

Which stock is cheaper, CDZI, VLTO and AWK?

American Water Works Company (AWK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cadiz (CDZI) -9.6x, Veralto (VLTO) 25.6x, American Water Works Company (AWK) 24.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Veralto (VLTO) is cheapest (Veralto (VLTO) 22.8x, American Water Works Company (AWK) 24.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

American Water Works Company (AWK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cadiz (CDZI) -4.8%, Veralto (VLTO) +6.2%, American Water Works Company (AWK) +6.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

American Water Works Company (AWK) has the highest net margin (Cadiz (CDZI) -286.1%, Veralto (VLTO) 17.3%, American Water Works Company (AWK) 21.3%). On return on invested capital, Veralto (VLTO) leads (Veralto (VLTO) 17.4%, American Water Works Company (AWK) 6.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Water Works Company (AWK) returned the most: Cadiz (CDZI) -17.2%, Veralto (VLTO) -1.3%, American Water Works Company (AWK) +0.1%. Over five years, American Water Works Company (AWK) compounded fastest (Cadiz (CDZI) -6.4%/yr, American Water Works Company (AWK) -3.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cadiz (CDZI) 0.00%, Veralto (VLTO) 0.00%, American Water Works Company (AWK) 0.02%. Cadiz (CDZI) and Veralto (VLTO) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, American Water Works Company (AWK) has been the steadiest (Cadiz (CDZI) 66.6%, Veralto (VLTO) 23.5%, American Water Works Company (AWK) 22.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CDZI, VLTO and AWK?

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.