Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $4.88 Million Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd has reduced its holdings in American Water Works Company by 9.8%, selling 3,564 shares, resulting in ownership of 32,715 shares valued at approximately $4.88 million.
• American Water Works reported earnings of $1.48 EPS, which fell short of analysts' expectations of $1.53, despite a year-over-year revenue increase of 11.1%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8275, translating to an annualized dividend of $3.31 with a yield of 2.4%.

Plato Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,564 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its position in American Water Works by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4.8% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,607 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 5.0% during the first quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.4% during the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,157 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $908,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Argus raised their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $143.30.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:AWK traded down $0.46 on Friday, hitting $139.17. 994,551 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 999,133. The company has a market cap of $27.15 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $155.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $142.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.63.

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

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 59.64%.

American Water Works Company Profile

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.