H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) vs. American Energy Partners (OTCMKTS:AEPTD) Financial Contrast

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) and American Energy Partners (OTCMKTS:AEPTD) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

H2O America has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Energy Partners has a beta of 2.92, indicating that its stock price is 192% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for H2O America and American Energy Partners, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
H2O America	0	1	1	0	2.50
American Energy Partners	0	0	0	0	0.00

H2O America presently has a consensus target price of $56.50, indicating a potential upside of 10.83%. Given H2O America’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe H2O America is more favorable than American Energy Partners.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares H2O America and American Energy Partners”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
H2O America	$748.44 million	2.40	$93.97 million	$3.05	16.71
American Energy Partners	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

H2O America has higher revenue and earnings than American Energy Partners.

Profitability

This table compares H2O America and American Energy Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
H2O America	13.03%	7.67%	2.27%
American Energy Partners	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

84.3% of H2O America shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of H2O America shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

H2O America beats American Energy Partners on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About H2O America

SJW Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility and other related services in the United States. It operates in Water Utility Services and Real Estate Services segments. The company engages in the production, purchase, storage, purification, distribution, wholesale, and retail sale of water and wastewater services; and supplies groundwater from wells, surface water from watershed run-off and diversion, reclaimed water, and imported water purchased from the Santa Clara Valley Water District. It also offers non-tariffed services, including water system operations, maintenance agreements, and antenna site leases; contracted services, sewer operations, and other water related services to water utilities; and a Linebacker protection plan for public drinking water customers in Connecticut and Maine. In addition, the company provides water service to approximately 232,400 connections that serve approximately one million people residing in portions of the cities of San Jose and Cupertino and in the cities of Campbell, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, and the Town of Los Gatos; adjacent unincorporated territories in the County of Santa Clara in the State of California; water service to approximately 141,000 service connections, which serve approximately 461,000 people in 81 municipalities with a service area of approximately 272 square miles in Connecticut and Maine and approximately 3,000 wastewater connections in Southbury, Connecticut; approximately 28,000 service connections that serve approximately 83,000 people in a service area comprising approximately 271 square miles in the region between San Antonio and Austin, Texas; and approximately 950 wastewater connections. Further, it owns undeveloped land in California and Tennessee; commercial and warehouse properties in Tennessee; and commercial properties and parcels of land in Connecticut. The company was formerly known as SJW Corp. and changed its name to SJW Group in November 2016. SJW Group was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

About American Energy Partners

American Energy Partners, Inc., through its subsidiaries, sources, treats, and distributes reclaimed water in the United States. The company engages in the design, construction, and operation of regional water treatment facilities that serve industrial, energy, and government sectors. It also focuses on drilling, operating, and partnership opportunities in the upstream oil and gas space. It also provides geotechnical services. The company is based in Allentown, Pennsylvania.