Janus Henderson Group PLC Lowers Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Janus Henderson Group PLC trimmed its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 87.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 158,138 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $3,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter worth about $27,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AWK shares. Truist Financial set a $139.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.90.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $135.29 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.57 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $130.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.10.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.08. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.895 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.05%.

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.