American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Newly Purchased by Ninety One SA Pty Ltd

Ninety One SA Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 50,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,600,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Water Works from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.11.

American Water Works Stock Performance

American Water Works stock traded up $2.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $133.97. 1,193,463 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,995,284. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $120.57 and a one year high of $145.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.62 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.58.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $0.8950 dividend. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 62.05%.

American Water Works Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc is a public water and wastewater utility that provides essential services to residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in the United States. Through its regulated operations, the company collects, treats, distributes, and manages drinking water, as well as collects and treats wastewater.

The company also provides services through businesses that support utilities, municipalities, military installations, and other public-sector customers.