Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases 2,968 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has increased its stake in American Water Works Company, owning 574,258 shares worth approximately $84.7 million after acquiring an additional 2,968 shares in the first quarter.
• American Water Works reported a loss of $0.05 per share against analysts' expectations and recorded quarterly revenue growth of 11.1% year-over-year, amounting to $1.28 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8275 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.31 with a yield of 2.3%, set to be paid on September 3rd.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 574,258 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,968 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.29% of American Water Works worth $84,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AWK. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the 1st quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Argus increased their price objective on American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on 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. Barclays cut their price target on 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, Mizuho increased their price target on American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $143.30.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.1%

American Water Works stock traded up $0.0880 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $145.9580. 963,948 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,632,087. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.65. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $142.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.12.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This trade represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

American Water Works 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.