Cohen & Steers Inc. Reduces Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Cohen & Steers Inc. cut its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 35.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 462,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 251,929 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $60,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 71.7% during 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 period. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE AWK opened at $126.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $128.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.65. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.57 and a 52 week high of $147.87.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.895 per share. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AWK shares. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $137.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective 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, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.11.

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.