Man Group plc Purchases Shares of 5,749 American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $756,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter valued at about $2,712,173,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,037,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,570,936,000 after purchasing an additional 486,090 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,171,477,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 3,274.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,092,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $925,605,000 after purchasing an additional 6,882,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,039,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $655,025,000 after buying an additional 33,359 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AWK. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial set a $139.00 target price on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.78.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE AWK opened at $140.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.59. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.57 and a 52 week high of $145.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $135.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.08. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 62.05%.

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.