Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System initiated a new position in American Water Works, buying 9,900 shares worth about $1.35 million in the first quarter.
• American Water Works shares were up 3.6% and opened at $136.56; the stock has traded between $120.57 and $147.87 over the past year.
• The company missed EPS estimates in its latest quarter but beat revenue expectations, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.895 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 2.6%.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,347,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,219,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $290,729,000 after acquiring an additional 47,977 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 489,371 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,863,000 after purchasing an additional 47,352 shares during the period. TSP Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,559,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 21,430 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,797,000 after acquiring an additional 9,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Country Trust Bank lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 178,599 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,307,000 after purchasing an additional 11,401 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $136.56 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.57 and a 1 year high of $147.87. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $126.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $26.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. American Water Works's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.08 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.895 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AWK. Barclays upped their price target on American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America dropped their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $139.22.

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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