Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Has $4.40 Million Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp decreased its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,181 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 803.1% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $137.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Bank of America cut their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.11.

American Water Works News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting American Water Works this week:

• Positive Sentiment: American Water completed its $315 million purchase of Nexus Water Group systems across eight states, adding about 47,000 customers and expanding its regulated footprint, which could support long-term revenue and earnings growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company reiterated its acquisition-led expansion strategy alongside a planned $3.7 billion 2026 capital spending program, reinforcing expectations for continued infrastructure investment and regulated asset growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: American Water also highlighted its participation in industry discussions on affordability at the Western Conference of Public Service Commissioners, which underscores its regulatory focus but is unlikely to be a direct near-term catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary about AWK’s valuation and share-price weakness suggests investors are still weighing the stock’s premium utility valuation against its slower near-term price momentum.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the acquisition news, the stock has recently underperformed peers, indicating some lingering market skepticism about execution, financing, or near-term upside.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $123.56 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.62. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.57 and a 12 month high of $147.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a $0.895 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This is a boost 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%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

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.