Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Acquires 16,653 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Miller Howard Investments increased its stake in American Water Works by 39.8% in the first quarter, buying 16,653 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 58,467 shares worth about $7.96 million.
• American Water Works reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings of $1.01 per share missing estimates but revenue of $1.21 billion topping expectations and rising 5.7% year over year.
• The company also raised its dividend to $0.895 per share quarterly, or $3.58 annually, which implies a 2.8% yield; analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a target price of $138.11.

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 39.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,467 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 16,653 shares during the quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's holdings in American Water Works were worth $7,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 4.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in American Water Works by 3,274.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,092,757 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $925,605,000 after acquiring an additional 6,882,575 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 64.2% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 6,493,161 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $847,361,000 after acquiring an additional 2,539,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 0.7% during the fourth 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, Amundi raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,171,929 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $544,420,000 after acquiring an additional 275,511 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $126.77 on Wednesday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $126.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.43. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.57 and a fifty-two week high of $147.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.62.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a $0.895 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. 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 analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, March 27th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America lowered their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays increased their price target on American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price target on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.11.

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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