American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Argus Analyst Says

Key Points

• Argus raised its price target on American Water Works from $155 to $165 and maintained a Buy rating, implying 11.09% potential upside.
• Analyst opinion overall remains cautious: MarketBeat reports a consensus Hold rating and an average target of $144.12, despite mixed recent rating changes.
• The company’s latest quarter fell short of estimates, reporting EPS of $2.00 versus $2.04 expected and revenue of $1.51 billion versus $1.58 billion; revenue nevertheless grew 4.1% year over year.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Argus from $155.00 to $165.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Argus's target price suggests a potential upside of 11.09% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Huntington downgraded shares of American Water Works from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Mizuho set a $149.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered shares of American Water Works from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $153.00 to $162.00 in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $144.12.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.2%

AWK opened at $148.52 on Wednesday. American Water Works has a twelve month low of $120.57 and a twelve month high of $153.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $137.20 and a 200-day moving average of $133.05. The stock has a market cap of $29.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 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 (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($0.04). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.26% and a return on equity of 10.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. American Water Works's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 6.6% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Water Works by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 453 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in American Water Works by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 480 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its stake in American Water Works by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,945 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

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. Through contracted operations, it also provides water and wastewater services to certain military installations and municipal customers.

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