Reviewing Manila Water (OTCMKTS:MWTCY) & American Water Works (NYSE:AWK)

Manila Water (OTCMKTS:MWTCY) and American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Manila Water and American Water Works’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Manila Water	N/A	N/A	N/A
American Water Works	21.93%	9.60%	3.12%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.0% of Manila Water shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.6% of American Water Works shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of American Water Works shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Manila Water pays an annual dividend of C$6.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 50.8%. American Water Works pays an annual dividend of $3.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Manila Water pays out 10.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. American Water Works pays out 62.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. American Water Works has increased its dividend for 17 consecutive years. Manila Water is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Manila Water and American Water Works, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Manila Water	0	0	0	0	N/A
American Water Works	2	3	2	0	2.00

American Water Works has a consensus price target of $140.29, suggesting a potential downside of 4.90%. Given American Water Works’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe American Water Works is more favorable than Manila Water.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Manila Water and American Water Works”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Manila Water	N/A	N/A	N/A	C$58.75	0.21
American Water Works	$4.36 billion	6.59	$944.00 million	$4.93	29.92

American Water Works has higher revenue and earnings than Manila Water. Manila Water is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Water Works, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

American Water Works beats Manila Water on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Manila Water

Manila Water Company, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides water treatment and distribution, sewerage, and sanitation services in the Philippines and internationally. The company offers integrated used water, pipework, engineering, procurement, and management services. It also provides its services to people in the East Zone encompassing cities and municipalities, including Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig, Marikina, Quezon City, and Manila, as well as Rizal towns comprising Angono, Antipolo, Baras, Binangonan, Cainta, Cardona, Jala-Jala, Morong, Pililia, Rodriguez, San Mateo, Tanay, Taytay, and Teresa. The company serves residential, commercial, semi-business, and industrial customers. Manila Water Company, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is based in Quezon City, the Philippines.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems. It also provides water and wastewater services on military installations; and undertakes contracts with municipal customers, primarily to operate and manage water and wastewater facilities, as well as offers other related services. In addition, the company operates approximately 80 surface water treatment plants; 540 groundwater treatment plants; 175 wastewater treatment plants; 53,700 miles of transmission, distribution, and collection mains and pipes; 1,200 groundwater wells; 1,700 water and wastewater pumping stations; 1,100 treated water storage facilities; and 74 dams. The company was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey.