American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in American Water Works by 2.3%, now holding approximately 1.06% of the company, worth $303.98 million.
• During the first quarter, several institutional investors, including Cloud Capital Management LLC and WPG Advisers LLC, initiated new stakes in American Water Works, reflecting increasing institutional interest.
• The company recently reported earnings of $1.48 per share, slightly missing expectations, while setting a FY 2025 EPS guidance of 5.700-5.750.

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,060,609 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 48,800 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 1.06% of American Water Works worth $303,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the first quarter worth $48,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Argus boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $143.30.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK stock traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $140.63. 1,054,827 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,452,044. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $142.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.15. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $155.50. The firm has a market cap of $27.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.34, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

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

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.64%.

American Water Works Company 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.