Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd Decreases Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd cut its stake in American Water Works by 51.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 27,132 shares and ending with 25,704 shares worth about $3.35 million.
• Several other large institutional investors adjusted their positions, while institutional ownership remains high at 86.58% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $138.11, while American Water Works also recently reported Q1 EPS of $1.01, missed estimates, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.895 per share.

Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd lowered its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 51.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,704 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 27,132 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd's holdings in American Water Works were worth $3,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Water Works by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,227,049 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,650,543,000 after purchasing an additional 597,916 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,037,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,570,936,000 after buying an additional 486,090 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 64.2% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 6,493,161 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $847,361,000 after buying an additional 2,539,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,039,122 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $655,025,000 after acquiring an additional 33,359 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,331,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $434,816,000 after acquiring an additional 43,373 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AWK. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.11.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $128.51 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.57 and a 12 month high of $147.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.62.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Equities analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

American Water Works Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.