Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. AWK scored 55.2, NJR scored 65.0 — NJR leads.
Compare another set
AWK
American Water Works Company, Inc.
Utilities - Regulated Water · Quality-Growth
55.2
$128.88 · $25.6B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
9.8
NJR leads
NJR
New Jersey Resources Corporation
Utilities - Regulated Gas · Quality-Growth
65
$51.21 · $5.2B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthAWK+7.3%
Strongest balance sheetAWK1.38
Highest qualityNJR76 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueNJR-9%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
AWK
stronger →← stronger
NJR
53
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
76
62
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
56
51
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
64
NJR is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
AWK
NJR
-$1.0bF
FCF
$359mC
+7.3%B
Rev
+7.0%C+
1.38B
D/E
1.47B
4.9xD
P/S
—
2.27C
PEG
2.14C
—
P/E
14.2xA-
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
AWK
NJR
—
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
9% below
—
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~3%/yr
—
1-yr DCF upside
+6%
—
5-yr DCF upside
+10%
—
10-yr DCF upside
+17%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
AWK
Why this score
Raising its dividend
NJR
Why this score
Raising its dividend
The companies
AWKAmerican Water Works Company, Inc.
Utilities - Regulated Water · $128.88 · beta 0.57
Why now
Utilities - Regulated Water · market cap $25.6b. 12% off the 52-week high of $145.64. 11 sell-side analysts rate this a Hold with a mean 1-yr target of $141.45 (implying +10% upside).
Moat
Net margin 21% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close.
Risk
Free cash flow is negative (-$1.0b) — capital raises or debt issuance likely required; dilution / leverage risk.
NJRNew Jersey Resources Corporation
Utilities - Regulated Gas · $51.21 · beta 0.50
Why now
Utilities - Regulated Gas · market cap $5.2b. 16% off the 52-week high of $60.86. 7 sell-side analysts publish a mean 1-yr target of $59.86 (implying +17% upside).
Moat
Net margin 24% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 14% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere. FCF converts 98% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Commodity exposure — earnings power tracks the price of the underlying commodity, not management execution. A 15-20% move in the commodity reprices the equity well before fundamentals catch up.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where AWK and NJR diverge
On the headline score the gap is 9.8 points in favor of NJR. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
QualityAWK 52.8 · NJR 76.4NJR +23.6
ValueAWK 51.2 · NJR 64.2NJR +13.0
GrowthAWK 62.2 · NJR 56.1AWK +6.1
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is NJR or AWK the better stock?
NJR scores higher: NJR 65.0, AWK 55.2 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do NJR and AWK differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where NJR leads by 24 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are NJR and AWK scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.