SFE Investment Counsel Cuts Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

SFE Investment Counsel lowered its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 14.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,553 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.00.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $130.78. 1,679,113 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,328,022. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.57 and a fifty-two week high of $147.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $126.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.61.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

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

American Water Works 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.