American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $143.00.

AWK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $142.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $114.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho set a $145.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th.

American Water Works Stock Performance

American Water Works stock opened at $131.50 on Friday. American Water Works has a twelve month low of $118.74 and a twelve month high of $155.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $25.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $133.80 and its 200 day moving average is $138.51.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.04. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 21.93%.The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Water Works will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in American Water Works by 48.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 999,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $147,448,000 after buying an additional 323,946 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 52,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 6.6% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 62,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,147,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 5.1% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 242,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,720,000 after purchasing an additional 11,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in American Water Works during the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.