American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• American Water Works Company, Inc. has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from analysts, with one sell rating, eight hold ratings, and one buy rating.
• The average 1-year target price set by brokerages is $145.75, with notable targets ranging from $141.00 to $155.00.
• The company recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.48, missing estimates by $0.05, but achieved revenue of $1.28 billion, surpassing expectations.

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the ten analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $145.75.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AWK. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $142.62 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $140.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. American Water Works has a twelve month low of $118.74 and a twelve month high of $155.50. The company has a market cap of $27.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.70.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that American Water Works will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is 59.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in American Water Works by 881.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,704,995 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $546,562,000 after buying an additional 3,327,352 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth about $344,645,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,532,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $668,566,000 after acquiring an additional 878,951 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 114.3% in the 1st quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 1,505,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,296,000 after purchasing an additional 802,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter valued at about $103,053,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.