Abacus Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 6,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $873,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 71.7% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Faithward Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 5.4% during the third quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $124.41 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $121.28 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $133.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.53.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.895 per share. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of American Water Works from $149.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.11.

American Water Works 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.