American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $140.1111.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on American Water Works from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $139.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 21,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,797,000 after purchasing an additional 9,698 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in American Water Works during the first quarter worth $1,347,000. Jericho Financial LLP acquired a new position in American Water Works during the second quarter worth $3,506,000. Capital Innovations LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $4,700,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the second quarter worth $11,899,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $136.12 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. American Water Works has a twelve month low of $120.57 and a twelve month high of $145.64. The stock has a market cap of $27.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.59.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.35%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Water Works 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 paid a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.05%.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc is a water and wastewater utility company that provides essential services to residential, commercial, industrial and public-sector customers. Through its regulated operations, the company treats and distributes drinking water, collects and treats wastewater, and manages related infrastructure such as pipelines, treatment plants, storage facilities and pumping stations.

The company also provides water and wastewater services to military installations and operates businesses serving municipalities and other public-sector customers.