American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $141.1250.

AWK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Argus boosted their target price on American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $137.97 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $140.86 and a 200-day moving average of $142.15. American Water Works has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $155.50. The company has a market cap of $26.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.70.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 59.64%.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in American Water Works in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.