Benjamin Edwards Inc. Trims Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its stake in American Water Works by 5.5%, selling 18,627 shares and ending the quarter with 319,103 shares worth about $41.65 million.
• Other large institutions ramped up positions (notably UBS, Impax and Vanguard), leaving hedge funds and institutional investors owning 86.58% of AWK.
• American Water missed Q1 EPS ($1.01 vs. $1.10 consensus) despite revenue growth to $1.21B, set FY2026 guidance of 6.02–6.12 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.895 (annualized $3.58, ~2.8% yield).

Benjamin Edwards Inc. decreased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 319,103 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,627 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned about 0.16% of American Water Works worth $41,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 383.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,596,125 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $361,355,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058,656 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in American Water Works by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,386,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $311,487,000 after purchasing an additional 657,849 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in American Water Works by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,227,049 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,650,543,000 after purchasing an additional 597,916 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in American Water Works by 81.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,043,899 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $145,217,000 after purchasing an additional 469,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,769,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Water Works from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $139.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $137.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $140.44.

American Water Works News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Management reiterated multi-year growth targets and is targeting ~8% EPS growth for 2026; management expects the Essential merger to close by the end of Q1 2027, which could expand scale and regulated rate base over time. MSN: Essential merger & 8% EPS growth
• Positive Sentiment: Company described an H2-weighted growth path on the Q1 call and emphasized acquisitions, new rates and pending deals as drivers of customer and revenue growth — supports medium‑term earnings trajectory. TipRanks: H2-weighted growth
• Positive Sentiment: Industry/regulatory backdrop: Pennsylvania American Water highlighted a new AWWA report stressing the need for long‑term U.S. water infrastructure investment — a favorable narrative for regulated utilities that seek rate recovery for capital programs. PR Newswire: Infrastructure needs
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 earnings materials and transcripts are available for investors to review for details on guidance, rate cases and capex; slides/presentation provide management’s detail on throughput and cash flow timing. Seeking Alpha: Q1 presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/value comparison: Zacks ran a peer-value piece comparing AWK to California Water Service (CWT) for investors evaluating trade-offs in the water-utility space. Zacks: CWT vs AWK
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate/PR items: American Water is marking Drinking Water Week and announcing charitable grants — positive for community relations but unlikely to move the stock materially. PR Newswire: Drinking Water Week
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 results: EPS came in at $1.01, below consensus (~$1.10), which is the primary near‑term catalyst weighing on the stock despite revenue growth to $1.21B. The miss is the likely driver of the intraday downward move as investors re‑price short‑term expectations. Zacks: Q1 EPS miss

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $127.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $121.28 and a 52 week high of $150.51. The company's 50-day moving average price is $135.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. American Water Works's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a $0.895 dividend. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.69%.

American Water Works Profile

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.