ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 4,932 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,932 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $7,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in American Water Works by 14.5% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 350,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,782,000 after buying an additional 44,336 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in American Water Works by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,219,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $290,729,000 after buying an additional 47,977 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in American Water Works by 5.6% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 85,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,967,000 after buying an additional 4,553 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in American Water Works by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 489,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,863,000 after buying an additional 47,352 shares during the period. Finally, TSP Capital Management Group LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,559,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $123.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.34. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.28 and a 1-year high of $147.87. The company has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.31.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AWK shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of American Water Works from $149.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.56.

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.