Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $1.88 Million in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group initiated a $1.88 million position in American Water Works during the second quarter, while institutional investors collectively own 86.58% of the company.
• Analysts remain cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $138.78 price target; the stock recently opened at $138.19.
• American Water Works exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.61 in EPS and $1.35 billion in revenue, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.895 per share, representing a 2.6% annualized yield.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,882,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the second quarter valued at $7,309,000. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter worth about $910,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter worth about $59,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,841,000. Finally, Perennial Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at about $202,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AWK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on American Water Works from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.78.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $138.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.60. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.57 and a 52-week high of $145.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.35%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.895 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 62.05%.

American Water Works 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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