The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys Shares of 198,749 American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 198,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $26,151,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.10% of American Water Works as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc boosted its position in American Water Works by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 2,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AWK shares. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Mizuho raised their target price on American Water Works from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.78.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of AWK opened at $136.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.60. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $120.57 and a one year high of $145.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $133.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.90.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.05%.

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.