American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Receives $138.78 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One 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 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $138.7778.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AWK. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on American Water Works from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 21,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,797,000 after buying an additional 9,698 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter valued at $1,347,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 25,338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,307,000 after buying an additional 10,760 shares during the period. Capital Innovations LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at $4,700,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in American Water Works by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 69,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,142,000 after acquiring an additional 14,363 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $135.66 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.49. American Water Works has a 1 year low of $120.57 and a 1 year high of $147.84. The firm has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.60.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.05%.

About American Water Works

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.