American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $138.1111.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in American Water Works by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,429,000 after acquiring an additional 4,762 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth about $302,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in American Water Works by 184.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 5,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 3,561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.8%

AWK stock opened at $126.49 on Friday. American Water Works has a 1-year low of $120.57 and a 1-year high of $147.87. The firm has a market cap of $24.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $128.95 and its 200-day moving average is $130.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Water Works will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.895 per share. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is 63.48%.

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.