American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Issues Earnings Results

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK – Get Rating) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.10, RTT News reports. American Water Works had a net margin of 32.14% and a return on equity of 11.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. American Water Works updated its FY22 guidance to $4.39 to $4.49 EPS.

American Water Works stock traded down $2.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $158.10. 3,823 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,015,030. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.27. American Water Works has a fifty-two week low of $144.20 and a fifty-two week high of $189.65. The stock has a market cap of $28.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 10th will be paid a $0.655 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 9th. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.68%.

Several equities analysts recently commented on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Water Works from $148.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 19th. HSBC raised shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $190.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 23rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $163.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $171.00 in a report on Friday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $256,000. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $270,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 82.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About American Water Works (Get Rating)

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.4 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.

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