American Water Works Company, Inc. vs The Southern Company
AWK wins the Tale of the Tape 5–4.
🏆 Tale of the Tape
Green = winner in each category. Higher is better except P/E (lower = cheaper).
Rolling Correlation
Moderately correlated — some diversification benefit from holding both.
Fundamentals
| Metric | AWK | SO |
|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $24.1B | $103.8B |
| P/E Ratio | 21.8x | 23.5x |
| Forward P/E | 18.8x | 18.7x |
| P/B | 2.18x | 2.80x |
| Dividend Yield | 2.90% | 3.30% |
| Beta | 0.63 | 0.36 |
Quantitative Metrics
| Metric | AWK | SO |
|---|---|---|
| DCF Fair Value | — | — |
| DCF Upside | — | — |
| Piotroski F | 7/9 | 4/9 |
| Altman Z | 1.00 | 1.01 |
| Beneish M | -1.77 | -2.69 |
| FCF Yield | -3.15% | -1.69% |
| Net Debt/EBITDA | 4.3x | 4.5x |
| ROIC | 5.2% | 4.7% |
| WACC | 7.6% | 6.5% |
| ROIC – WACC | -2.4pp | -1.8pp |
| Gross Margin | 60.7% | 48.5% |
| Net Margin | 21.6% | 14.7% |
| Rev Growth YoY | 9.7% | 10.6% |
| Sharpe (1Y) | -0.14 | 0.53 |
| Max Drawdown 3Y | — | — |
| FCF Payout Ratio | — | — |
AWK Price
SO Price
ETF Exposure
More Comparisons
Quant metrics computed from financial statements and 1,200+ trading days. Correlation is Pearson coefficient on daily log returns. Not investment advice.
AWK vs SO: Head-to-Head Analysis
American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) and The Southern Company (SO) represent two companies in the Utilities sector. In our quantitative Tale of the Tape scoring, AWK leads 5–4 across nine fundamental and risk metrics including profitability, valuation, capital efficiency, and financial health.
In terms of capital efficiency, AWK generates a return on invested capital (ROIC) of 5.2% compared to SO's 4.7%. This suggests AWK is more effective at deploying capital to generate shareholder returns.
The 252-day rolling correlation between AWK and SO is 0.593, indicating moderate co-movement, with some diversification value from holding both in a portfolio context.
AWK appears in 28 ETFs tracked by SecuritiesDB, while SO appears in 31 ETFs. Investors holding broad-market ETFs may already have indirect exposure to both stocks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stock is the better investment, AWK or SO?
Our quantitative analysis compares AWK and SO across nine fundamental dimensions. AWK wins the Tale of the Tape 5–4. However, stock selection depends on your individual risk tolerance, time horizon, and portfolio context. These metrics are computed from SEC filings and market data — they are not investment recommendations.
Are AWK and SO correlated?
The 252-day correlation between AWK and SO is 0.593. They show moderate correlation — partially diversifying.
How is the Tale of the Tape scored?
The Tale of the Tape compares both stocks across nine categories: profitability (net margin), valuation (P/E), efficiency (ROIC), health (Piotroski F-Score), safety (Altman Z-Score), growth (revenue YoY), risk (Sharpe ratio), leverage (debt-to-equity), and cash generation (FCF yield). The stock that wins more categories takes the overall score. Lower P/E and lower debt-to-equity count as wins.