Amundi Decreases Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its American Water Works stake by 4.7% in the second quarter, selling 205,556 shares and retaining 4.15 million shares valued at approximately $545.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.58% of AWK.
• Analyst sentiment remains largely neutral, with one Buy, eight Hold, and one Sell rating. The consensus price target is $138.78, although UBS raised its target to $150 and JPMorgan lifted its target to $147.
• American Water Works exceeded quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.61 versus the $1.53 consensus and revenue of $1.35 billion. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.895, equal to a 2.5% annualized yield.

Amundi cut its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,145,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 205,556 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 2.09% of American Water Works worth $545,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $872,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,466 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,429,000 after purchasing an additional 4,762 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $302,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 184.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 5,492 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 3,561 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AWK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.78.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $140.49 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $27.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.57 and a fifty-two week high of $145.64. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $135.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.37.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.33 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a $0.895 dividend. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.05%.

About American Water Works

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AWK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source