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

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on American Water Works, with eight hold ratings, one sell, and one buy. The average 12-month price target is approximately $140.11, while UBS raised its target to $162 and retained a buy rating.
• Institutional ownership is substantial at 86.58%, with major investors including California State Teachers Retirement System, BlackRock, GQG Partners, and Wellington Management increasing or initiating positions.
• American Water Works exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.61 in EPS and $1.35 billion in revenue, while maintaining FY 2026 EPS guidance of $6.02–$6.12. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.895, representing a 2.6% annualized yield.

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat 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 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $140.1111.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Mizuho upped their price target on American Water Works from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on American Water Works from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial set a $139.00 price objective on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in American Water Works by 10,819.9% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 62,462,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,218,760,000 after purchasing an additional 61,890,078 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,712,173,000. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth $1,171,477,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in American Water Works by 3,274.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,092,757 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $925,605,000 after acquiring an additional 6,882,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the second quarter valued at $443,787,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of AWK opened at $137.68 on Monday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $135.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.52. American Water Works has a 1 year low of $120.57 and a 1 year high of $145.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.59.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.33 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $0.895 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.05%.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc is a water and wastewater utility company that provides essential services to residential, commercial, industrial and public-sector customers. Through its regulated operations, the company treats and distributes drinking water, collects and treats wastewater, and manages related infrastructure such as pipelines, treatment plants, storage facilities and pumping stations.

The company also provides water and wastewater services to military installations and operates businesses serving municipalities and other public-sector customers.

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