First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,023,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,203 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $139,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in American Water Works by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 489,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,863,000 after acquiring an additional 47,352 shares during the last quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $1,559,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter valued at about $1,347,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 21,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,797,000 after purchasing an additional 9,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Country Trust Bank increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 178,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,307,000 after purchasing an additional 11,401 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $134.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.72. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.57 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.17%.The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.895 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AWK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price objective on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.60.

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.