American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Raised to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from “strong sell” to “sell”, but the overall analyst picture remains cautious.
• The stock’s broader consensus is still “Hold”, with two Buy ratings, eight Hold ratings, and one Sell; the average price target is $140.60.
• American Water Works reported Q1 earnings of $1.01 per share, missing estimates, though revenue came in at $1.21 billion and rose 5.7% year over year.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

AWK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays increased their price target on American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price objective on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $140.60.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE AWK opened at $135.08 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $127.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.64. American Water Works has a 52 week low of $120.57 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $26.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.61.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.09). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. American Water Works's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that American Water Works will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 82.6% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About American Water Works

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.

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