Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Buys 295,928 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 16.1%, acquiring an additional 295,928 shares to total over 2.1 million shares valued at around $314.9 million.
• American Water Works reported a Q2 EPS of $1.48, missing the consensus estimate, but revenue grew by 11.1% year-over-year to $1.28 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8275, translating to an annual yield of 2.4% with a dividend payout ratio of 59.64%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 16.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,134,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 295,928 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 1.09% of American Water Works worth $314,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the first quarter worth $29,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter valued at about $55,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $139.17. The company had a trading volume of 994,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 999,133. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $155.50. The company has a market capitalization of $27.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The company's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays reduced 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. Argus increased their target price on shares of American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $143.30.

American Water Works Company Profile

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.