Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. CEPU scored 66.0, AWR scored 63.0 — CEPU leads.
Compare another set
CEPU
Central Puerto S.A.
Utilities - Regulated Electric · Quality-Growth
66
$12.64 · $1.9B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
3.0
CEPU leads
AWR
American States Water Company
Utilities - Regulated Water · Quality-Growth
63
$82.26 · $3.3B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestCEPU5.5x
Fastest growthCEPU+13.0%
Strongest balance sheetCEPU0.33
Highest qualityCEPU70 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
CEPU
stronger →← stronger
AWR
70
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
64
86
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
60
86
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
65
CEPU is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
CEPU
AWR
$40mC-
FCF
$21mC-
+13.0%B+
Rev
+10.5%B
0.33A
D/E
0.82A-
5.5xA
P/E
22.5xC
—
PEG
2.98C
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
CEPU
AWR
158% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
597% above
~34%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~54%/yr
-66%
1-yr DCF upside
-86%
-61%
5-yr DCF upside
-86%
-54%
10-yr DCF upside
-86%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
CEPU
Why this score
Cut its dividend
Foreign reporter (ARS)
AWR
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Diluting shareholders
The companies
CEPUCentral Puerto S.A.
Utilities - Regulated Electric · $12.64 · beta -0.18
Why now
Utilities - Regulated Electric · market cap $1.9b. Down 32% from 52-week high of $18.50 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +13%, comfortably above the S&P median. 5 sell-side analysts publish a mean 1-yr target of $23.81 (implying +88% upside).
Moat
Net margin 29% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 19% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately.
Risk
Down 32% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up.
AWRAmerican States Water Company
Utilities - Regulated Water · $82.26 · beta 0.55
Why now
Utilities - Regulated Water · market cap $3.3b. 10% off the 52-week high of $91.72. Revenue growing +11%, comfortably above the S&P median.
Moat
Net margin 21% 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.
Risk
Mature compounder — the risk is paying up for quality at a moment when growth is decelerating. Watch for sequential revenue + margin trends; the inflection from "compounder" to "ex-compounder" is hard to spot until the multiple already started compressing.
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 CEPU and AWR diverge
On the headline score the gap is 3.0 points in favor of CEPU. The widest single difference is Growth, where CEPU leads by 26.2 points.
GrowthCEPU 86.2 · AWR 60.0CEPU +26.2
ValueCEPU 86.0 · AWR 65.2CEPU +20.8
QualityCEPU 70.2 · AWR 63.9CEPU +6.3
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 CEPU or AWR the better stock?
CEPU scores higher: CEPU 66.0, AWR 63.0 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 CEPU and AWR differ most?
The widest gap is growth, where CEPU leads by 26 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. CEPU leads all three pillars, so the gap is broad rather than a single-measure difference.
How are CEPU and AWR 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.