Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,148 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Freedom Investment Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in American Water Works by 27.4%, selling 2,148 shares, with remaining shares valued at approximately $839,000.
• Insiders have been active, with CAO Melissa K. Wikle selling 2,825 shares, decreasing her ownership by 27.17%, at an average price of $143.28.
• American Water Works reported Q2 earnings with an EPS of $1.48, missing estimates of $1.53, while revenue increased by 11.1% year-over-year, reaching $1.28 billion.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 27.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,686 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,148 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in American Water Works were worth $839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PFG Advisors lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 9,699 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after buying an additional 2,429 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 124,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,344,000 after buying an additional 2,570 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,556,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 45.2% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 21.5% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,692 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho lifted their price target on American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group reduced their price target on American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen cut American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $143.30.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $143.40. The stock had a trading volume of 941,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,417,115. The company's 50-day moving average is $142.40 and its 200 day moving average is $141.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.74 and a 12-month high of $155.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $27.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.65.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 21.91%.The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. American Water Works's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.64%.

American Water Works Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.