Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 1,938.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 171,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 162,848 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $22,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 71.7% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AWK shares. 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. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “hold” rating and a $137.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.11.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $124.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average is $133.10 and its 200 day moving average is $131.37. 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 Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.28 and a 52-week high of $147.87.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.895 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio is 63.48%.

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.