American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,227,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 597,916 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.13% of American Water Works worth $3,650,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $114.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. 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 report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho set a $145.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group set a $149.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.89.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $131.14 on Thursday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $121.28 and a 52 week high of $155.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $129.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.70. The company has a market cap of $25.60 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.77. 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 (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.04). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 21.93%.The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Equities analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.17%.

Key Headlines Impacting American Water Works

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company reaffirmed and nudged FY‑2026 EPS guidance to a range of 6.020–6.120 (above the ~5.95 consensus) and maintained long‑term EPS/dividend growth targets — a signal of management confidence in forward earnings power. PR Newswire Release
• Positive Sentiment: Strong 2025 results: adjusted full‑year EPS rose (ex‑items) vs prior year, dividend increased ~8.2%, $3.2B of capex invested and the company repaid a $795M secured seller note — supports cash‑flow outlook and growth investment thesis. PR Newswire Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Water‑utility sector commentary sees AWK among companies positioned to benefit from steady customer bases and ongoing infrastructure spending — a supportive industry backdrop but not a short‑term catalyst. Zacks Industry Piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Unrelated macro/bond commentary circulated (lightly referenced in feeds) and is unlikely to materially affect AWK’s fundamentals in the near term. MarketBeat Article
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed estimates: EPS $1.24 vs. consensus ~$1.28 and revenue $1.27B vs. ~$1.29B; Reuters and Zacks flag higher expenses as a driver of the miss — a typical trigger for near‑term share weakness as investors reprice short‑term growth/expense risk. Zacks Earnings Note Reuters Summary

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.