American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Stock: WASHINGTON TRUST Co Raises Holdings

WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 4,720.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 74,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,829 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $9,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,347,000. Jericho Financial LLP bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,506,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,899,000. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter worth approximately $3,092,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 22.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 104,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,255,000 after purchasing an additional 19,043 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of American Water Works stock traded down $0.40 on Friday, hitting $142.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,978,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,881,741. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.58. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.57 and a 1 year high of $144.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $135.13 and a 200-day moving average of $131.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.52.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. American Water Works’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.8950 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AWK shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded American Water Works from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of American Water Works from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial set a $139.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.75.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc is a public water and wastewater utility that provides essential services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers. Through its regulated businesses, the company supplies drinking water, collects and treats wastewater, and manages related infrastructure, including treatment plants, pipelines, storage facilities and customer service systems.

Founded in 1886, American Water has grown into one of the largest water and wastewater service providers in the United States.