American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Sold by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd lessened its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,330 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd owned approximately 0.06% of American Water Works worth $16,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Werlinich Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.9% during the third quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 4,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its position in American Water Works by 3.4% during the second quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 2,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cowen began coverage on American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. 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 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $114.00 to $124.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho set a $145.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.44.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $130.28 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $132.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.43 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.39. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.74 and a 12 month high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a $0.8275 dividend. 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 currently 58.17%.

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.