Wells Fargo & Company Cuts American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Price Target to $126.00

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $142.00 to $126.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

AWK has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho set a $145.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. UBS Group set a $149.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $114.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price 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, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.60.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of AWK stock opened at $131.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.76. American Water Works has a 52-week low of $120.63 and a 52-week high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.04. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 21.93%.The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, analysts predict that American Water Works will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.5%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Werlinich Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 4,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Obermeyer Wealth Partners lifted its position in American Water Works by 3.4% in the second quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 2,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 2.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 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.