American Water Works Company Inc vs Moody's Corporation — how do they compare? American Water Works Company Inc trades at $131.69 (market cap $25.69B), while Moody's Corporation trades at $493.7 (market cap $86.59B). The key difference: Moody's Corporation is far larger — about 3.4× American Water Works Company Inc's market cap, and American Water Works Company Inc pays the higher dividend (2.72%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| AWK | MCO | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $25.69B | $86.59B |
Sector | Utilities | Financials |
52-Week High | $147.00 | $539.61 |
52-Week Low | $121.13 | $412.23 |
Enterprise Value | $41.25B | $92.39B |
Dividend Yield | 2.72% | 0.83% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
American Water Works (AWK) trades at $131.53, up 0.64% with a bullish technical signal and strong fundamentals. The stock shows consistent revenue growth from $3.8B in 2022 to $5.14B in 2025, maintaining net margins above 21%. Recent earnings show mixed results with a Q3 2025 beat but Q1 2026 miss, while the company continues infrastructure investments and community initiatives.
AWK presents a stable utility investment with moderate upside to the $137 consensus target. Key risks include regulatory approvals for rate increases and high capital expenditures. Analyst sentiment is balanced with 47% buy ratings, though recent earnings misses warrant caution ahead of Q2 2026 results on July 29, 2026.
MCO trades at $495.72, up 1.73% today, with strong technical momentum as price hovers near pivot point resistance at $496. The company demonstrates robust fundamentals with 31.69% net margins and consistent earnings beats, while recent AI platform expansions signal growth initiatives. Analyst consensus remains bullish with a $539.40 price target, though valuation multiples appear elevated.
Outlook remains positive given earnings momentum and strategic AI investments, but high P/E of 35.56 presents valuation risk. Key catalysts include Q2 2026 earnings release on July 22, while regulatory scrutiny and debt market sensitivity represent ongoing headwinds for the credit ratings leader.
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 →