American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Stock Has Average Price Target of $140.11 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on American Water Works, with eight hold, one sell, and one buy rating. The average 12-month price target is $140.11, versus the stock’s reported opening price of $128.27.
• American Water Works exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.61 in EPS and $1.35 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 6.2% year over year. Analysts expect approximately $6.09 in EPS for the current year.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.895 per share, equivalent to $3.58 annually and a 2.8% yield; institutional investors own 86.58% of the outstanding stock.

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment 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 target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $140.11.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price target on American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Water Works from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $128.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.58. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $135.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.10. American Water Works has a one year low of $120.57 and a one year high of $145.64.

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

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.8950 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 94,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,268,000 after acquiring an additional 37,858 shares in the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the third quarter valued at about $83,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 190.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,167 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,093,000 after purchasing an additional 10,603 shares during the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 64.6% in the third quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 2,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 80.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 10,691 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc is a public water and wastewater utility that provides essential services to residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in the United States. Through its regulated operations, the company collects, treats, distributes, and manages drinking water, as well as collects and treats wastewater.

The company also provides services through businesses that support utilities, municipalities, military installations, and other public-sector customers.

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