Analysts Set American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) PT at $139.11

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $139.1111.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $137.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on American Water Works from $149.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $124.81 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.41. American Water Works has a 52 week low of $121.28 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The company has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.17%.The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company’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. As a group, analysts expect that American Water Works will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,429,000 after buying an additional 4,762 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter valued at approximately $302,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.5% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 184.4% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 5,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 3,561 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.