PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Trims Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group reduced its stake in American Water Works by 3.2% in the first quarter, selling 17,648 shares and leaving it with 528,506 shares valued at about $71.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 86.58% of American Water Works shares. Several firms added to positions, while analyst sentiment stayed mostly cautious.
• American Water Works reported mixed recent results: quarterly EPS of $1.01 missed estimates, but revenue of $1.21 billion topped expectations. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.895 per share, giving a 2.7% yield.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 528,506 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,648 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.27% of American Water Works worth $71,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in American Water Works by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,466 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,429,000 after buying an additional 4,762 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the second quarter worth approximately $302,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 1.5% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $816,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 184.4% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 5,492 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 3,561 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price target on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial cut their target price on American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $140.60.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.5%

AWK stock opened at $134.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.61. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.57 and a 12 month high of $147.87. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $128.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a $0.895 dividend. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.48%.

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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