American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Price Target Cut to $126.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $142.00 to $126.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $149.00 target price on American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on American Water Works from $134.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Cowen started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $145.00 price target on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.60.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $131.44 on Tuesday. American Water Works has a 12-month low of $120.63 and a 12-month high of $155.50. The company has a market cap of $25.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.62. 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 (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 21.93%.The company’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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 research analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 7,578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $989,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in American Water Works by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 125,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,314,000 after acquiring an additional 6,650 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1,154,375.0% in the 4th quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 46,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,026,000 after buying an additional 46,175 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 138.1% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 3,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 245.4% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 5,127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

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.