Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in American Water Works by 116% in the first quarter, ending with 63,035 shares valued at about $8.6 million.
• American Water Works reported Q1 EPS of $1.01, missing analyst estimates, while revenue came in at $1.21 billion, above expectations and up 5.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.895 per share from $0.83, and Wall Street currently has a Hold consensus with an average price target of $140.60.

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 116.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,035 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 33,848 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in American Water Works were worth $8,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $129.17 on Thursday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.57 and a 12-month high of $147.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $25.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $127.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.59.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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. Two analysts have 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 a consensus target price of $140.60.

About American Water Works

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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