American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 51.3% in the first quarter, buying 248,544 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 732,883 shares worth about $99.8 million.
• American Water Works reported quarterly EPS of $1.01, missing analyst expectations, while revenue came in at $1.21 billion and rose 5.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.895 per share, equal to an annualized payout of $3.58 and a 2.7% yield; analysts currently view the stock as a Hold on average.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 51.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 732,883 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 248,544 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.38% of American Water Works worth $99,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,219,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $290,729,000 after purchasing an additional 47,977 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in American Water Works by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 489,371 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,863,000 after purchasing an additional 47,352 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter valued at $1,347,000. TSP Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $1,559,000. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its position in American Water Works by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 21,430 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,797,000 after buying an additional 9,698 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of AWK opened at $135.08 on Monday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $120.57 and a twelve month high of $147.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.61. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $127.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.64.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. American Water Works's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $140.60.

American Water Works 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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