American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Upgraded to Neutral at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. Bank of America currently has $139.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $117.00.

AWK has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $114.00 to $124.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $142.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on American Water Works in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on American Water Works from $134.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $130.22 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $130.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. American Water Works has a 12-month low of $118.74 and a 12-month high of $155.50. The company has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.76.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 10.48%. American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. 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 analysts expect that American Water Works will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AWK. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the third quarter worth $27,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American Water Works

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.