23,496 Shares in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Bought by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired 23,496 American Water Works shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $3.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.58% of AWK.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $138.78. The stock recently opened at $137.58.
• American Water Works exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.61 EPS and $1.35 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 6.2% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.895 per share, representing a 2.6% annualized yield.

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 23,496 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,092,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake 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 valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 5.4% in the third quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.5% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 4.1% during the first quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 2,376 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial set a $139.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays boosted 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, July 15th. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.78.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $137.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $27.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $133.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.73. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.57 and a 1 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. American Water Works's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a $0.895 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.05%.

American Water Works Company Profile

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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