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

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its American Water Works stake by 13.3% in the second quarter, selling 41,104 shares and retaining 268,462 shares valued at approximately $35.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.58% of AWK.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with one Buy, eight Hold, and one Sell rating. The consensus target price is $138.78, while individual targets range from $130 to $150.
• American Water Works beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.61 in EPS and $1.35 billion in revenue, up 6.2% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.895, equating to a 2.6% annualized yield.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lessened its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 268,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 41,104 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of American Water Works worth $35,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in American Water Works by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 2,376 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Truist Financial set a $139.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.78.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE AWK opened at $138.19 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.57 and a 52 week high of $145.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $134.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.60.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a $0.895 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.05%.

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.

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