American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $141.20.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on American Water Works from $134.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America raised American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $139.00 in a report on Monday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on American Water Works in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho set a $145.00 price target on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $114.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.7%

AWK opened at $131.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $130.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.89. American Water Works has a one year low of $120.63 and a one year high of $155.50. The stock has a market cap of $25.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.76.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.04. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.17%.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 88.5% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 257,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,829,000 after purchasing an additional 120,890 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 136,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,000,000 after acquiring an additional 32,834 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 11,577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 2,562 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in American Water Works by 144.4% during the second quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 14,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 8,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 3,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc (NYSE: AWK) is a publicly traded utility company that provides water and wastewater services in the United States. Its core business is the operation, management and maintenance of regulated water and wastewater systems that deliver potable water, collect and treat wastewater, and provide related customer services to residential, commercial and industrial customers as well as municipalities. The company’s operations include water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, meter reading and billing, emergency repairs, and long-term infrastructure planning and capital project execution.

In addition to its regulated utility operations, American Water offers complementary nonregulated services and solutions that support system reliability and customer needs.