IFM Investors Pty Ltd Decreases Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd cut its stake in American Water Works by 21.8%, owning 62,389 shares valued at approximately $9.2 million after selling 17,383 shares during the first quarter.
• American Water Works reported $1.48 earnings per share for the last quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations, while revenue increased by 11.1% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8275 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lowered its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,383 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in American Water Works were worth $9,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,248,263 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,724,624,000 after purchasing an additional 141,038 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in American Water Works by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,532,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $668,566,000 after purchasing an additional 878,951 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in American Water Works by 881.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,704,995 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $546,562,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,352 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in American Water Works by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,479,406 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $513,282,000 after purchasing an additional 121,680 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,134,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $314,861,000 after purchasing an additional 295,928 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on AWK shares. Mizuho raised their target price on American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on 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. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Two 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $143.30.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $138.53 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $27.03 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $142.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.57. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.74 and a 12-month high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for 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 business's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. 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.

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