American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Receives $140.89 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $140.8889.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $114.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $139.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on American Water Works from $134.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:AWK opened at $136.63 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.77. American Water Works has a 52-week low of $121.28 and a 52-week high of $155.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $130.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.04). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.61% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. American Water Works’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Water Works will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 82.6% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the third quarter worth $27,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Company Profile

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.