Beck Bode LLC Purchases New Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Beck Bode LLC invested approximately $19.17 million in American Water Works Company, acquiring 129,918 shares, making it the firm’s 3rd largest holding.
• Several large investors increased their stakes in American Water Works, with Price T Rowe Associates boosting its holdings by 881.1% during the 1st quarter.
• The stock has received mixed analyst ratings, with two analysts assigning a Buy rating, while the average price target is set at $143.30.

Beck Bode LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 129,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $19,166,000. American Water Works comprises 3.6% of Beck Bode LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Beck Bode LLC owned about 0.07% of American Water Works at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK traded down $1.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $142.18. 373,967 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,410,735. The company has a market cap of $27.74 billion, a PE ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.69. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $142.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.16. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 21.91%.American Water Works's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. Research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given 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 (DPR) is 59.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays lowered 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Argus raised their price target on shares of American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $143.30.

About American Water Works

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.