AWK vs. KEP: American Water Works vs. Korea Electric Power Stock Comparison

Company Profile

American Water Works (AWK) and Korea Electric Power (KEP) both fall under the Utilities industry group, but AWK is classified in Water Utilities while KEP is classified in Electric Utilities.

American Water Works (AWK) trades as ordinary local shares, while Korea Electric Power (KEP) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Korea Electric Power (KEP) at 16.60% sits in the top ROE quartile, while American Water Works (AWK) at 9.95% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for KEP.

American Water Works (AWK) at 21.26% keeps a top-quartile share of each sales dollar as profit, while Korea Electric Power (KEP) at 8.04% keeps a bottom-quartile share.

American Water Works (AWK) at 43.18% carries a top-quartile operating margin, while Korea Electric Power (KEP) at 4.73% operates in the bottom quartile.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Both American Water Works (AWK) at 9.74% and Korea Electric Power (KEP) at 4.31% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Korea Electric Power (KEP) at 144.73% clears its industry range for EPS growth, a much stronger earnings trajectory than American Water Works (AWK) at 5.57%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both American Water Works (AWK) at 0.39 and Korea Electric Power (KEP) at 0.44 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

American Water Works (AWK) at 1.38 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Korea Electric Power (KEP) at 2.63 uses more debt funding than most peers.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

American Water Works (AWK) at 2.26% pays an industry-typical yield; Korea Electric Power (KEP) at 13,891.89% is above its entire peer range — the higher number, but one that calls for a look at payout sustainability before treating it as an advantage.

American Water Works (AWK) at 59.60% keeps its payout within the industry’s typical band; Korea Electric Power (KEP) at 12.22% pays out less than peers usually do, retaining more of its earnings — a policy difference more than a quality gap.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Korea Electric Power (KEP) at 2.66 trades below its industry P/E ratio range, while American Water Works (AWK) at 26.00 sits in the richer quartile — the market is paying very different prices for each company’s trailing earnings.

Korea Electric Power (KEP) at 0.00 looks cheap on sales in the lower P/S ratio quartile, while American Water Works (AWK) at 5.60 looks rich in the upper quartile — a clear gap in price per dollar of revenue.

Korea Electric Power (KEP) at 0.38 looks cheap against book in the lower P/B ratio quartile, while American Water Works (AWK) at 2.51 carries a premium in the upper quartile — a clear price-to-book gap.

Valuation Metrics