AWK vs. PEG: American Water Works vs. Public Service Enterprise Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do American Water Works (AWK) and Public Service Enterprise (PEG) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

American Water Works (AWK) and Public Service Enterprise (PEG) both fall under the Utilities industry group, but AWK is classified in Water Utilities while PEG is classified in Multi-Utilities.

Company profile comparison for American Water Works (AWK) and Public Service Enterprise (PEG)
Profile Item	AWK	PEG
Name	American Water Works Company, Inc.	Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Utilities	Utilities
GICS Industry Group	Utilities	Utilities
GICS Industry	Water Utilities	Multi-Utilities
GICS Sub-Industry	Water Utilities	Multi-Utilities
Market Capitalization	29.92 billion USD	36.20 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	April 23, 2008	January 2, 1980
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AWK

PEG

GSPC

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Public Service Enterprise (PEG), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for American Water Works (AWK) and Public Service Enterprise (PEG). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for American Water Works (AWK) and Public Service Enterprise (PEG). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Public Service Enterprise (PEG)
Metric	AWK	PEG
Total Return (1Y)	17.61%	-6.86%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	9.05%	10.69%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-0.39%	7.38%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AWK

PEG

GSPC

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Public Service Enterprise (PEG), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for American Water Works (AWK) and Public Service Enterprise (PEG). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Public Service Enterprise (PEG)
Metric	AWK	PEG
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	22.53%	18.73%
Beta (5Y)	0.54	0.47
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-37.10%	-27.29%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.03M	3.44M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

AWK and PEG are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Public Service Enterprise (PEG)
Metric	AWK	PEG
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.59	-0.60
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.95	-0.82

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both American Water Works (AWK) at 9.95% and Public Service Enterprise (PEG) at 10.28% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

AWK

Utilities industry group

9.95%

Max: 17.99%
Q3: 12.01%
AWK: 9.95%
Median: 9.44%
Q1: 7.56%
Min: 2.17%

PEG

Utilities industry group

10.28%

Max: 17.99%
Q3: 12.01%
PEG: 10.28%
Median: 9.44%
Q1: 7.56%
Min: 2.17%

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Public Service Enterprise (PEG): A comparison of their ROE against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

American Water Works (AWK) at 21.26% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Public Service Enterprise (PEG) at 14.32%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

AWK

Utilities industry group

21.26%

Max: 28.78%
AWK: 21.26%
Q3: 17.30%
Median: 12.73%
Q1: 9.18%
Min: -0.20%

PEG

Utilities industry group

14.32%

Max: 28.78%
Q3: 17.30%
PEG: 14.32%
Median: 12.73%
Q1: 9.18%
Min: -0.20%

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Public Service Enterprise (PEG): A comparison of their net margin against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

American Water Works (AWK) at 43.18% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Public Service Enterprise (PEG) at 21.29%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

AWK

Utilities industry group

43.18%

Max: 53.83%
AWK: 43.18%
Q3: 31.12%
Median: 23.62%
Q1: 15.45%
Min: -4.90%

PEG

Utilities industry group

21.29%

Max: 53.83%
Q3: 31.12%
Median: 23.62%
PEG: 21.29%
Q1: 15.45%
Min: -4.90%

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Public Service Enterprise (PEG): A comparison of their operating margin against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Public Service Enterprise (PEG)
Metric	AWK	PEG
ROE (TTM)	9.95%	10.28%
ROA (TTM)	3.50%	2.93%
Net Margin (TTM)	21.26%	14.32%
Operating Margin (TTM)	43.18%	21.29%
Gross Margin (TTM)	61.86%	32.12%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Public Service Enterprise (PEG) at 18.25% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while American Water Works (AWK) at 9.74% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for PEG.

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Public Service Enterprise (PEG): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both American Water Works (AWK) at 5.57% and Public Service Enterprise (PEG) at 19.21% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Public Service Enterprise (PEG): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Public Service Enterprise (PEG)
Metric	AWK	PEG
Revenue Growth (YoY)	9.74%	18.25%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.67%	7.48%
EPS Growth (YoY)	5.57%	19.21%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	8.06%	27.05%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Public Service Enterprise (PEG) at 1.01 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while American Water Works (AWK) at 0.39 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for AWK.

AWK

Utilities industry group

0.39

Max: 1.90
Q3: 1.17
Median: 0.88
Q1: 0.66
AWK: 0.39
Min: 0.29

PEG

Utilities industry group

1.01

Max: 1.90
Q3: 1.17
PEG: 1.01
Median: 0.88
Q1: 0.66
Min: 0.29

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Public Service Enterprise (PEG): A comparison of their current ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both American Water Works (AWK) at 1.38 and Public Service Enterprise (PEG) at 1.48 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

AWK

Utilities industry group

1.38

Max: 2.63
Q3: 1.77
AWK: 1.38
Median: 1.35
Q1: 0.84
Min: 0.00

PEG

Utilities industry group

1.48

Max: 2.63
Q3: 1.77
PEG: 1.48
Median: 1.35
Q1: 0.84
Min: 0.00

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Public Service Enterprise (PEG): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Public Service Enterprise (PEG)
Metric	AWK	PEG
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.39	1.01
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.38	1.48
Net Debt / EBITDA	5.49	5.86

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Public Service Enterprise (PEG) at 3.61% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while American Water Works (AWK) at 2.26% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, PEG the richer one.

AWK

Utilities industry group

2.26%

Max: 6.66%
Q3: 3.58%
Median: 2.85%
AWK: 2.26%
Q1: 0.66%
Min: 0.00%

PEG

Utilities industry group

3.61%

Max: 6.66%
PEG: 3.61%
Q3: 3.58%
Median: 2.85%
Q1: 0.66%
Min: 0.00%

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Public Service Enterprise (PEG): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

American Water Works (AWK) at 59.60% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while Public Service Enterprise (PEG) at 74.58% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

AWK

Utilities industry group

59.60%

Max: 113.04%
Q3: 68.72%
AWK: 59.60%
Median: 56.38%
Q1: 32.38%
Min: 0.00%

PEG

Utilities industry group

74.58%

Max: 113.04%
PEG: 74.58%
Q3: 68.72%
Median: 56.38%
Q1: 32.38%
Min: 0.00%

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Public Service Enterprise (PEG): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Public Service Enterprise (PEG)
Metric	AWK	PEG
Dividend Yield (TTM)	2.26%	3.61%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	59.60%	74.58%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Public Service Enterprise (PEG) at 20.51 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while American Water Works (AWK) at 26.00 sits in the richer quartile — AWK needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

AWK

Utilities industry group

26.00

Max: 31.22
AWK: 26.00
Q3: 23.30
Median: 19.64
Q1: 15.17
Min: 3.34

PEG

Utilities industry group

20.51

Max: 31.22
Q3: 23.30
PEG: 20.51
Median: 19.64
Q1: 15.17
Min: 3.34

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Public Service Enterprise (PEG): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Public Service Enterprise (PEG) at 2.93 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while American Water Works (AWK) at 5.60 sits in the pricier quartile — AWK costs more per dollar of sales.

AWK

Utilities industry group

5.60

Max: 6.35
AWK: 5.60
Q3: 3.63
Median: 2.63
Q1: 1.52
Min: 0.00

PEG

Utilities industry group

2.93

Max: 6.35
Q3: 3.63
PEG: 2.93
Median: 2.63
Q1: 1.52
Min: 0.00

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Public Service Enterprise (PEG): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Public Service Enterprise (PEG) at 2.08 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while American Water Works (AWK) at 2.51 carries an above-peer premium to book — AWK is pricier on assets.

AWK

Utilities industry group

2.51

Max: 3.12
AWK: 2.51
Q3: 2.21
Median: 1.83
Q1: 1.46
Min: 0.34

PEG

Utilities industry group

2.08

Max: 3.12
Q3: 2.21
PEG: 2.08
Median: 1.83
Q1: 1.46
Min: 0.34

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Public Service Enterprise (PEG): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Public Service Enterprise (PEG)
Metric	AWK	PEG
P/E Ratio (TTM)	26.00	20.51
P/S Ratio (TTM)	5.60	2.93
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.51	2.08
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-5.45%	-0.90%