American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Receives Average Rating of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Key Points

• American Water Works Company, Inc. has received an average rating of "Reduce" from eight brokerages, with two analysts issuing a sell rating, while five have a hold rating and one a buy rating.
• The company's stock price has fluctuated, with a 52-week low of $118.74 and a high of $155.50, and it currently has a market cap of $26.60 billion.
• American Water Works announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8275 per share, yielding 2.4%, with an annualized payout ratio of 59.64%.

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $141.1250.

Several brokerages have weighed in on AWK. Mizuho increased their price objective on American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Argus increased their price objective on American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PFG Advisors lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 33.4% during the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 9,699 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 2,429 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 124,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $18,344,000 after acquiring an additional 2,570 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.2% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 45.2% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 28.4% in the second quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 11,577 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,610,000 after buying an additional 2,562 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $136.32 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.37. American Water Works has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $155.50. The firm has a market cap of $26.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. American Water Works'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. Analysts anticipate that American Water Works will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.64%.

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.

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