American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. by 5.1%, owning approximately $35.72 million worth of shares at the end of the recent quarter.
• Though the company reported a net margin of 21.91%, it missed the earnings per share consensus estimate by $0.05 in its latest quarterly earnings release.
• American Water Works plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.8275 on September 3rd, with an annualized yield of 2.3% and a payout ratio of 59.64%.

National Pension Service raised its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 242,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 11,745 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.12% of American Water Works worth $35,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the first quarter worth about $48,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the first quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $143.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Water Works Price Performance

AWK traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $145.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 576,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,428,787. The business's 50-day moving average price is $141.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.80. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.74 and a 12 month high of $155.50. The stock has a market cap of $28.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 21.91%.The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is 59.64%.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.