Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Invests $348,000 in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Securities LLC has invested $348,000 in American Water Works Company by acquiring 2,500 shares during the second quarter.
• American Water Works reported $1.48 earnings per share for the last quarter, which was below the consensus estimate of $1.53, while revenue increased to $1.28 billion, surpassing expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8275, representing an annualized yield of 2.4% with a payout ratio of 59.64%.

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $137.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $140.86 and a 200-day moving average of $142.15. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Argus raised their target price on shares of American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $141.13.

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.

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