TD Cowen Initiates Coverage on American Water Works (NYSE:AWK)

Stock analysts at TD Cowen started coverage on shares of American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.63% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE AWK opened at $144.02 on Thursday. American Water Works has a 12 month low of $118.74 and a 12 month high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $28.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $140.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.06.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that American Water Works will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in American Water Works by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Werlinich Asset Management LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 4,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Obermeyer Wealth Partners increased its stake in American Water Works by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 2,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About American Water Works

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 3.5 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.