IFP Advisors Inc Purchases 10,249 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in American Water Works by 698.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 10,249 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 11,717 shares worth about $1.53 million.
• American Water Works reported Q1 earnings of $1.01 per share, missing analysts’ expectations, though revenue came in at $1.21 billion, above estimates and up 5.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.895 per share, equal to an annualized dividend of $3.58 and a yield of about 2.9%.

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 698.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,717 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,249 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,227,049 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,650,543,000 after acquiring an additional 597,916 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in American Water Works by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,551,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,607,886,000 after acquiring an additional 120,870 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in American Water Works by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,779,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $386,882,000 after acquiring an additional 98,042 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in American Water Works by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,639,521 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $344,462,000 after acquiring an additional 22,827 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 383.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,596,125 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $361,355,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of AWK stock opened at $125.31 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $132.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.27. The company has a market cap of $24.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.28 and a fifty-two week high of $147.87. 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 (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Equities analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on AWK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Truist Financial started coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $137.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised their price objective on American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.56.

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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