American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Stock Gets Downgrade from Huntington

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) was downgraded by investment analysts at Huntington from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Huntington also issued estimates for American Water Works’ Q4 2026 earnings at $1.47 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $6.09 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.09 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.67 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.27 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.54 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $6.58 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $1.18 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $1.81 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $2.60 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $7.12 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on AWK. Truist Financial set a $139.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on American Water Works from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. UBS Group lowered their price target on American Water Works from $162.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.14.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK traded down $2.00 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $150.42. 3,270,359 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,941,038. The company has a market capitalization of $29.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. American Water Works has a 52-week low of $120.57 and a 52-week high of $153.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.87.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($0.04). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 21.26%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 73.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter valued at $33,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.