Candriam S.C.A. Purchases 166,199 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in American Water Works by 75.7% in the first quarter, owning approximately 0.20% of the company valued at $56.9 million.
• American Water Works recently reported a Q2 EPS of $1.48, missing analysts' estimates of $1.53, while revenue reached $1.28 billion, surpassing expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8275 per share, yielding 2.3%, with payment scheduled for September 3rd to investors on record as of August 12th.

Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 75.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 385,865 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 166,199 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.20% of American Water Works worth $56,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the first quarter worth $29,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the first quarter worth $48,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the first quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upped their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays cut 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $143.30.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This trade represents a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK traded up $0.0880 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $145.9580. 963,948 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,632,087. The stock's fifty day moving average is $142.14 and its 200 day moving average is $141.12. The stock has a market cap of $28.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.35. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year 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 the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 21.91%.The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is 59.64%.

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.