American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Stock Position Raised by AIA Group Ltd

Key Points

• AIA Group increased its American Water Works position by 2,300.1% in the third quarter, adding 63,300 shares to hold 66,052 shares valued at about $8.55 million.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $137.88; two analysts rate the stock Buy, six Hold, and one Sell.
• American Water Works reported quarterly EPS of $2.00 and revenue of $1.51 billion, both below estimates, though revenue rose 4.1% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.895 per share.

AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 2,300.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,052 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 63,300 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in American Water Works were worth $8,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Jericho Financial LLP purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,506,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter worth about $11,899,000. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter worth about $3,092,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 570.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 152,829 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $20,109,000 after purchasing an additional 130,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 62.8% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 31,156 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,034,000 after purchasing an additional 12,022 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. 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. Mizuho set a $149.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Water Works from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $137.88.

American Water Works News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting American Water Works this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: West Virginia American Water announced a $700,000 project to upgrade infrastructure on McKell Avenue in Glen Jean. The work supports the utility’s system investment but is modest in scale for the parent company. West Virginia American Water Announces $700,000 Infrastructure Project in Glen Jean
• Neutral Sentiment: Huntington Sec’s estimates project EPS of $6.58 for FY2027 and $7.12 for FY2028, but the reports do not indicate a change to its forecasts; its FY2026 estimate of $6.09 matches consensus. American Water Works analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate report says Wall Street brokerages rate AWK “Hold,” suggesting analysts are not signaling a strong near-term directional view. American Water Works Stock Rated Hold by Wall Street Brokerages
• Negative Sentiment: In the latest quarterly results cited in the background, AWK reported EPS of $2.00 versus the $2.04 consensus and revenue of $1.51 billion versus the $1.58 billion estimate. Those misses may weigh on investor sentiment, despite year-over-year revenue growth.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $146.25 on Wednesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.57 and a 12-month high of $148.15. The company has a market capitalization of $29.12 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $135.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.58 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 21.26%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.8950 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.05%.

American Water Works Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc is a public water and wastewater utility that provides essential services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers. Through its regulated businesses, the company supplies drinking water, collects and treats wastewater, and manages related infrastructure, including treatment plants, pipelines, storage facilities and customer service systems.

Founded in 1886, American Water has grown into one of the largest water and wastewater service providers in the United States.

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