American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Purchased by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 29.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,195 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $3,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter worth approximately $2,712,173,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 35.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,911,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,962,116,000 after buying an additional 3,883,057 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter valued at about $1,171,477,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 4,351,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $592,081,000 after buying an additional 179,127 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter worth about $443,787,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE AWK traded up $1.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $149.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,261,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,103,428. The stock has a market cap of $29.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.57 and a 12 month high of $153.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.39.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.26% and a return on equity of 10.14%. American Water Works’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.8950 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 62.05%.

Recent American Water Works Headlines

Here are a few of the latest headlines about AWK:

• Positive Sentiment: Stone County voters approved the sale of a public water system to Missouri American Water. The approval could support customer-base growth, though the announcement provides no transaction value or expected earnings contribution. Stone County Approves Water-System Sale to Missouri American Water
• Neutral Sentiment: West Virginia American Water announced $580,000 of infrastructure upgrades in Oak Hill. The project reflects ongoing investment in the utility’s system, but its modest scale is unlikely to materially affect company-wide results. West Virginia American Water Announces Oak Hill Upgrades
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage discussed AWK’s dividend, a refreshed customer portal, and website-related signals, but the provided headlines do not indicate a material change to the company’s financial outlook. American Water Works Dividend Analysis American Water Works Refreshes Its Portal

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AWK shares. Argus boosted their target price on American Water Works from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Huntington downgraded American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings raised American Water Works from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on American Water Works from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.12.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc. is a U.S. water and wastewater utility that provides services to residential, commercial, industrial, and public-sector customers. Its operations include treating and distributing drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and maintaining the infrastructure needed to deliver those services. The company operates regulated water and wastewater utilities across multiple states, serving communities in regions including the Northeast, Midwest, and South. Through contracted operations, it also provides water and wastewater services to certain military installations and municipal customers.