Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Boosts Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 316.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,974 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $132.34 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.57 and a 12-month high of $147.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $126.81 and a 200 day moving average of $130.46.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.17%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AWK. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price target on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.11.

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.