American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments boosted its stake in American Water Works by 43.4%, adding 96,070 shares to hold 317,218 shares (~$44.1M), and several large institutions (including Vanguard, Norges Bank, Invesco and Raymond James) also materially increased positions as institutional ownership stands at 86.58%.
• American Water missed the latest quarter's estimates with $1.24 EPS vs. $1.28 expected and revenue slightly below forecasts, though revenue rose 5.8% year-over-year and management set FY2026 guidance of $6.02–$6.12 EPS.
• The stock trades around $134.38 with a market cap of $26.23B and a P/E of 23.62; analysts have an average "Hold" rating and a consensus target price of $140.89.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 43.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 317,218 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 96,070 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.16% of American Water Works worth $44,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter worth approximately $344,645,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in American Water Works by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,227,049 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,650,543,000 after purchasing an additional 597,916 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in American Water Works by 16.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,442,004 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $478,817,000 after purchasing an additional 494,868 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 81.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,043,899 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $145,217,000 after purchasing an additional 469,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 31,955.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 320,550 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,592,000 after purchasing an additional 319,550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of AWK opened at $134.38 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $130.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.68. The stock has a market cap of $26.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.77. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $121.28 and a 12 month high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.61% and a return on equity of 10.38%. American Water Works's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AWK. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America upgraded American Water Works from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $139.00 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group set a $149.00 price objective on American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on American Water Works from $134.00 to $122.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $140.89.

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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