Danske Bank A S Purchases 17,200 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S boosted its stake in American Water by 25.8%, acquiring 17,200 shares to hold 83,860 shares valued at about $10.94 million in its latest 13F filing.
• American Water raised its quarterly dividend to $0.895 (annualized $3.58) from $0.83, implying a roughly 2.8% yield and a payout ratio near 58.7%.
• The company missed Q1 EPS ($1.01 vs. $1.10 expected) but beat revenue, set FY2026 guidance of $6.02–$6.12 EPS, and carries a Wall Street consensus rating of "Hold" with a $140.44 price target.

Danske Bank A S grew its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,860 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,200 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S's holdings in American Water Works were worth $10,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in American Water Works by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,466 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,429,000 after buying an additional 4,762 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the second quarter worth about $302,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 1.5% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $816,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in American Water Works by 184.4% in the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 5,492 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 3,561 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AWK. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America raised shares of American Water Works from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $139.00 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $137.00 price target for the company. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $140.44.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $126.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.37. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.28 and a fifty-two week high of $150.51. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $135.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.55.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.17%.American Water Works's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.895 dividend. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.69%.

American Water Works Company 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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