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Compare Stocks › AWK vs BRK-B

American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) vs Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B)

AWK
American Water Works Company, Inc.
$137.10
VS
BRK-B
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
$481.48

Rewards

AWK
  • ★Gross margin of 60.7% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
  • ★Dividend yield of 2.41% with a consistent or growing payout over the past 4 years.
BRK-B
  • ★Each dollar of retained earnings has created $1.66 of market value — management is creating shareholder value.
  • ★Net debt/EBITDA of -2.2x means the company holds more cash than debt — a net cash position.

Risks

AWK
  • ⚠Net debt/EBITDA of 5.7x indicates heavy leverage — it would take over 4 years of EBITDA to pay off net debt.
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.96 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
BRK-B
  • ⚠Berkshire Hathaway Inc. scores only 16/100 on the Economic Moat Score, suggesting limited durable competitive advantages.
  • ⚠Trailing P/E of 15.5x is 75% above the historical average of 8.9x — the stock trades at a premium to its own history.

Key Valuation Metrics

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AWK
BRK-B
Valuation
$-2.34B
Free Cash Flow
$36.80B
-8.75%
FCF Yield
3.54%
24.09
Trailing P/E
15.50
20.86
Forward P/E
22.11
Quality & Moat
4.88%
ROIC
11.31%
10.25%
ROE
9.30%
60.72%
Gross Margin
26.15%
N/A
PEG Ratio
N/A
Balance Sheet Safety
1.47
Debt / Equity
0.19
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
5.66
Net Debt / EBITDA
-2.15
2.41%
Dividend Yield
N/A
AWK: 3Ties: 1BRK-B: 6
AWKBRK-B

Historical Fundamentals

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AWK

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

BRK-B

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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AWK
$-1.66
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$1.36B
Δ Market Cap
$-2.25B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
BRK-B
$1.66
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Value Creator
Σ Retained
$252.19B
Δ Market Cap
+$417.98B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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AWK
226.4% Overvalued
Price is 226.4% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $137.10
Fair Value: $42.00
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
BRK-B
31.1% Margin of Safety
Price is 31.1% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $481.48
Fair Value: $699.14
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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AWK

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

BRK-B

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $481?

+0.7%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +8.8%

The market implies +0.7% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +8.8%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

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AWK
51/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with margin stability as the key competitive advantage. Improving reinvestment efficiency would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 5 years of fundamental data.
BRK-B
16/100
No Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

No durable moat detected, though reinvestment efficiency shows some competitive positioning. The business lacks consistent evidence of sustainable advantages.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 5 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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AWK
-2.79
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
BRK-B
-2.41
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

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AWK
Insiders 0.3%Institutions 99.5%Retail & Other 0.2%
No. of Institutional Holders1,636
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
BRK-B
Insiders 0.3%Institutions 66.2%Retail & Other 33.5%
No. of Institutional Holders5,852
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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AWK
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
BRK-B
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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AWK
0
Sells (3M)
1
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $404,766
WIKLE MELISSA K.
Officer
$404,766
@ $143.28 · 2025-05-30
NORTON CHERYL D.
Chief Operating Officer
$642,018
@ $138.16 · 2024-11-22
GOSS MARTHA CLARK
Director
$101,424
@ $142.85 · 2024-09-03
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
BRK-B
0
Sells (3M)
0
Sells (12M)
No open market insider sales found.
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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AWK
FearGreed
😐Neutral(51/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
BRK-B
FearGreed
😐Neutral(48/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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AWK
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (51)
BRK-B
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (48)
View AWK Full AnalysisView BRK-B Full Analysis