American Water Works Company Inc vs Moody's Corporation — how do they compare? American Water Works Company Inc trades at $134.93 (market cap $26.92B), while Moody's Corporation trades at $478.96 (market cap $82.80B). The key difference: Moody's Corporation is far larger — about 3.1× American Water Works Company Inc's market cap, and American Water Works Company Inc pays the higher dividend (2.64%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| AWK | MCO | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $26.92B | $82.80B |
Sector | Utilities | Financials |
52-Week High | $146.20 | $539.61 |
52-Week Low | $121.13 | $412.23 |
Enterprise Value | $42.78B | $88.83B |
Dividend Yield | 2.64% | 0.86% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
AWK trades at $135.31, up 0.36% today, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages and neutral oscillators. The company reported Q2 2026 EPS of $1.61, beating estimates, while Q1 and Q4 2025 missed. Revenue grew to $5.14B in 2025 with a 21.35% net margin. Analyst consensus is mixed with 14 Buy, 14 Hold, and 2 Sell ratings, targeting $139.83. Recent news highlights operational excellence awards and customer base expansion through acquisitions.
Outlook remains stable with consistent dividend payments and guided EPS growth. Risks include rising debt levels and regulatory pressures. The stock offers steady income and moderate growth potential, but investors should monitor execution on earnings targets and capital expenditure efficiency.
MCO trades at $477.75, up 0.98% on the day, with a bullish technical signal and strong fundamentals. Recent Q2 2026 earnings beat expectations with EPS of $4.68 versus $4.26 expected, driven by robust debt issuance and analytics demand. Revenue growth accelerated to 15% year-over-year, with net income margin expanding to 34.25%. The stock is supported by a consensus price target of $561.88, indicating 17.6% upside potential, and positive analyst sentiment with 56% buy ratings.
Outlook remains positive due to consistent earnings beats, high profitability, and strategic positioning in credit ratings. Risks include elevated valuation multiples, such as a P/E of 30.31, and dependence on capital market activity. Investors should weigh growth prospects against potential macroeconomic headwinds affecting debt issuance volumes.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
American Water Works is the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility, serving approximately 3.5 million customers in 16 states. It provides water and wastewater services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers and operates predominantly in regulated markets. The company's only nonregulated business is water services for military bases, which operates under long-term contracts.
Read more on AWK →Moody's, along with S&P Ratings, is a leading provider of credit ratings on fixed income securities. Moody's ratings segment, known as Moody's Investors Service or MIS, includes corporates, structured finance, financial institutions, and public finance ratings. MIS represents a majority of the firm's revenue and profits. Moody's other segment is Moody's Analytics and consists of Research, Data, and Analytics or RD&A and Enterprise Risk Solutions or ERS. RD&A's products include credit research, quantitative credit scores, economic research, business intelligence, know your customer (KYC) tools, commercial real estate data and analytical tools, and training services. ERS includes risk management software solutions to financial institutions.
Read more on MCO →