American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.06 EPS

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.06), FiscalAI reports. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK traded down $2.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $131.14. The company had a trading volume of 2,356,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,751,821. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.73. American Water Works has a fifty-two week low of $121.28 and a fifty-two week 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 stock has a market cap of $25.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.77.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 2.5%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is 58.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $139.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $114.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on American Water Works from $134.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.89.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Water Works by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA increased its stake in American Water Works by 81.3% in the fourth quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the second quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Water Works by 141.7% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.