QRG Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,629 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fulcrum Capital LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 8.3% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 7,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at $456,000. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. now owns 489,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,143,000 after acquiring an additional 16,194 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the third quarter worth $1,103,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 2.2% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 54,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of AWK stock opened at $130.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $120.63 and a twelve month high of $155.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $130.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.58. The stock has a market cap of $25.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.76.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 10.48%. American Water Works’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 is currently 58.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AWK. UBS Group set a $149.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on American Water Works from $134.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America upgraded American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $117.00 to $139.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on American Water Works from $142.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on American Water Works in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.60.

American Water Works Company Profile

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.