AWK vs YORW Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
American Water Works and York Water both operate regulated water utility businesses, but American Water Works is the largest publicly traded water utility with a diversified, multi-state footprint and active acquisition strategy, while York Water is a small, single-state Pennsylvania utility with an exceptionally long operating history.
AWK offers scale, diversification, and acquisition-driven growth, while YORW offers the simplicity and consistency of a small, long-tenured single-state water utility. The decision depends on whether you prefer diversified scale or a smaller, more concentrated regulated business.
AWK holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. YORW has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+1.37% vs -0.68%), though AWK has the better forward P/E setup (20.97x vs 22.27x for YORW). YORW leads on both revenue growth (22.50%) and operating margin (42.26%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for AWK (+2.73%) than for YORW (-9.04%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want exposure to the largest publicly traded regulated water utility in the country
- Value geographic diversification across multiple state regulatory jurisdictions
- Believe consolidation of smaller water systems provides a durable growth avenue
- Prefer scale advantages in accessing capital for infrastructure reinvestment
- Prefer a smaller, single-state regulated water utility with an exceptionally long operating history
- Value a long track record of consistent annual dividend increases
- Want a simpler, more concentrated regulated business to evaluate
- Are comfortable with less geographic diversification in exchange for operational simplicity
| Metric | AWK | YORW |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 39.3 | 32.4 |
| AI ranki | #1254 | #2880 |
| Latest closei | $142.75 | $31.82 |
| 1M returni | +7.28% | +3.65% |
| 3M returni | +6.01% | +2.98% |
| 6M returni | +7.80% | +9.30% |
| 1Y returni | -0.68% | +1.37% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | AWK | YORW |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.01K (+0.1%) started 2025-10-23 | $10.44K (+4.4%) started 2025-10-23 |
| 5Y ago | $9.52K (-4.8%) started 2021-10-25 | $8.28K (-17.2%) started 2021-10-25 |
| 10Y ago | $27.98K (+179.8%) started 2016-10-24 | $15.2K (+52.0%) started 2016-10-24 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | AWK | YORW |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $27.36B | $553.07M |
| Trailing P/Ei | 23.86 | 21.17 |
| Forward P/Ei | 20.97 | 22.27 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 8.18 | 8.91 |
| Analyst targeti | $141.45 | $31.00 |
| Target upsidei | +2.73% | -9.04% |
| Metric | AWK | YORW |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 6.20% | 22.50% |
| Earnings growthi | 8.60% | 37.00% |
| EPS growthi | +8.60% | +37.00% |
| FCF margini | -33.79% | -25.07% |
| Operating margini | 40.66% | 42.26% |
| Profit margini | 21.35% | 28.53% |
| ROIC proxyi | 10.10% | 9.00% |
| Return on equityi | 10.10% | 9.00% |
| Dividend yieldi | 2.60% | 2.67% |
| Payout ratioi | 58.54% | 56.10% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | 11 yrs |
| Betai | 0.58 | 0.60 |
| Debt/equityi | 137.75 | 64.57 |
| Current ratioi | 0.52 | 1.05 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.40 | 0.77 |
Over the past year, AWK and YORW have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.65), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | AWK | YORW |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +0.12% | +1.37% |
| CAGRi | +0.12% | +1.37% | |
| Volatilityi | 22.89% | 20.16% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.08 | -0.05 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.12 | -0.08 | |
| Max drawdowni | 15.04% | 13.93% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.34% | 7.29% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 7.53% | 6.19% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 8.20% | 7.51% | |
| Max daily dropi | 3.55% | 4.81% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 11.14% | 6.93% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -11.98% | -26.78% |
| CAGRi | -2.52% | -6.05% | |
| Volatilityi | 23.18% | 22.22% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.19 | -0.37 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.27 | -0.52 | |
| Max drawdowni | 37.10% | 35.77% | |
| Current drawdowni | 18.80% | 28.46% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 22.42% | 21.04% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 23.42% | 22.94% | |
| Max daily dropi | 5.65% | 5.67% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 14.91% | 8.77% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +133.74% | +20.79% |
| CAGRi | +8.86% | +1.91% | |
| Volatilityi | 23.87% | 29.03% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.29 | 0.05 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.41 | 0.08 | |
| Max drawdowni | 37.10% | 39.62% | |
| Current drawdowni | 18.80% | 32.75% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 13.61% | 18.19% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 17.18% | 21.12% | |
| Max daily dropi | 12.53% | 11.90% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 24.95% | 22.67% |
| Category | AWK | YORW |
|---|---|---|
| Company | American Water Works Company, Inc. | The York Water Company |
| Sector | Utilities | Utilities |
| Industry | Utilities - Regulated Water | Utilities - Regulated Water |
| Core business | The largest publicly traded regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States, providing water and related services to customers across multiple states through both regulated and market-based operations. | A small regulated water utility company providing water and wastewater services to customers in south-central Pennsylvania, with one of the longest continuously operating histories among US water utilities. |
| Investor focus | Regulated rate base growth from infrastructure reinvestment, acquisition activity consolidating smaller water systems, and regulatory relationship quality across its multi-state operating footprint. | Regulated rate base growth within its Pennsylvania service territory, dividend growth consistency, and small acquisition activity expanding its local service footprint. |
- Scale as the largest publicly traded water utility provides diversification across multiple state regulatory jurisdictions
- Ongoing infrastructure reinvestment in aging water systems supports a long, visible runway for regulated rate base growth
- Active acquisition strategy consolidating smaller municipal and private water systems provides an additional growth avenue
- Exceptionally long operating history reflects a stable, well-understood regulated business model in a single service territory
- Long track record of consistent annual dividend increases reflects the steady, predictable nature of small regulated water utility earnings
- Smaller, more concentrated service territory allows for close regulatory relationships and simplified operational oversight
- Operating across multiple state regulatory jurisdictions requires managing varied rate case timelines and outcomes
- Water infrastructure investment needs remain substantial industry-wide, requiring sustained capital access at reasonable costs
- Acquisition integration carries execution risk as the company absorbs smaller, previously independently operated water systems
- Small scale and single-state concentration provide less geographic diversification than larger, multi-state water utility peers
- Limited size may constrain the pace of large-scale acquisition or infrastructure investment opportunities
- Trading at a premium valuation common among small, high-quality dividend utilities can leave less room for multiple expansion
Compare more than two at a time
This page is a fixed writeup on AWK and YORW. Our comparison engine is the interactive version: load up to five tickers, switch timeframes, and get the correlation, drawdown, and overlap analysis that a static page can't show.
Add three more names beside AWK and YORW, mixing stocks and ETFs in the same table — useful when the real question is which of a whole peer group to own.
AI score, forward P/E, analyst target upside, operating margin, and revenue growth are scored head-to-head, with a running tally of which ticker leads on how many metrics.
Volatility, Sharpe and Sortino ratios, maximum, current, and average drawdown, Ulcer Index, and worst single-day and single-week drops across every timeframe.
Pairwise daily-return correlation for every combination, so you can see whether two holdings actually diversify each other or just move together.
A scatter plot of forward P/E against return on equity, plus drawdown and 30-day rolling volatility charts, to separate what is cheap from what is merely beaten down.
For ETFs, a top-holdings comparison that exposes hidden overlap between funds. Every comparison exports to CSV for your own spreadsheet work.
Two comparisons a week are free without an account. A 14-day trial removes the limit and adds AI price forecasts, stock rankings, saved watchlists, and the intrinsic value calculator — no credit card required.
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.