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Compare Stocks › AWK vs JNJ

American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) vs Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

AWK
American Water Works Company, Inc.
$137.10
VS
JNJ
Johnson & Johnson
$237.60

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.
JNJ
  • ★Johnson & Johnson has maintained ROIC above 10% for 4 consecutive years, suggesting solid business economics.
  • ★Gross margin of 68.1% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
  • ★Johnson & Johnson scores 90/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with revenue predictability as the strongest competitive dimension.

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.
JNJ
  • ⚠FCF yield of 2.9% is below 3%, meaning the market is pricing in substantial future growth to justify the current price.
  • ⚠7 insider sales totaling $58.4M with no purchases in the past 3 months — insiders are reducing their exposure.

Key Valuation Metrics

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AWK
JNJ
Valuation
$-2.34B
Free Cash Flow
$16.63B
-8.75%
FCF Yield
2.90%
24.09
Trailing P/E
21.56
20.86
Forward P/E
18.90
Quality & Moat
4.88%
ROIC
13.63%
10.25%
ROE
32.87%
60.72%
Gross Margin
68.08%
N/A
PEG Ratio
0.44
Balance Sheet Safety
1.47
Debt / Equity
0.60
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
5.66
Net Debt / EBITDA
0.86
2.41%
Dividend Yield
2.19%
AWK: 1Ties: 1JNJ: 9
AWKJNJ

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.

JNJ

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
JNJ
$0.91
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Mediocre Allocator
Σ Retained
$40.05B
Δ Market Cap
+$36.63B
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
JNJ
2.9% Margin of Safety
Price is 2.9% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $237.60
Fair Value: $244.77
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.

JNJ

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $238?

+9.3%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +15.8%

The market implies +9.3% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.

Standard FCF implies a more demanding +15.8%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.

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.
JNJ
90/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat with strength across all dimensions. Revenue Predictability is the standout factor.

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.
JNJ
-2.31
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.
JNJ
Insiders 0.1%Institutions 75.8%Retail & Other 24.2%
No. of Institutional Holders5,544
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
JNJ
0
Buys (3M)
1
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $257,688
MORIKIS JOHN G
Director
$257,688
@ $206.15 · 2025-11-26
WEINBERGER MARK A
Director
$147,220
@ $147.22 · 2024-12-12
WOODS EUGENE A
Director
$14,553
@ $145.53 · 2024-04-30
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
JNJ
7
Sells (3M)
12
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $101.23M
DECKER ROBERT J
Officer
$1.01M
@ $247.87 · 2026-02-27
SCHMID TIMOTHY
Officer
$324,763
@ $245.66 · 2026-02-20
SCHMID TIMOTHY
Officer
$5.53M
@ $244.33 · 2026-02-18
WOLK JOSEPH J
Chief Financial Officer
$21.77M
@ $242.80 · 2026-02-17
SWANSON JAMES D
Chief Technology Officer
$15.11M
@ $243.39 · 2026-02-17
BROADHURST VANESSA
Officer
$1.51M
@ $243.39 · 2026-02-17
REED JOHN C
Officer
$13.11M
@ $243.00 · 2026-02-17
REED JOHN C
Officer
$4.19M
@ $192.71 · 2025-10-17
TAUBERT JENNIFER L
Officer
$10.04M
@ $177.81 · 2025-09-04
DUATO JOAQUIN BOIX
Chief Executive Officer
$22.55M
@ $179.21 · 2025-08-22
WOLK JOSEPH J
Chief Financial Officer
$2.98M
@ $176.91 · 2025-08-15
REED JOHN C
Officer
$3.13M
@ $163.55 · 2025-07-17
DECKER ROBERT J
Officer
$1.16M
@ $165.88 · 2025-02-25
SCHMID TIMOTHY
Officer
$62,928
@ $156.15 · 2025-02-18
WOLK JOSEPH J
Chief Financial Officer
$2.00M
@ $153.89 · 2025-02-07
DECKER ROBERT J
Officer
$930,113
@ $165.06 · 2024-08-30
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.
JNJ
FearGreed
😐Neutral(59/100)

"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)
JNJ
⚪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 (59)
View AWK Full AnalysisView JNJ Full Analysis
American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) vs Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Stock Comparison | SafetyMargin.io