Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Sells 275,000 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Reaves W H & Co. Inc. sharply cut its American Water Works stake by 97.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 275,000 shares and leaving it with 6,145 shares worth about $802,000.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with American Water Works carrying a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $138.11; UBS upgraded the stock to Buy while others kept Hold or Underweight views.
• The company reported Q1 EPS of $1.01, missing estimates, but revenue came in above expectations at $1.21 billion. American Water Works also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.895 per share, boosting the annualized payout to $3.58.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 97.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,145 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 275,000 shares during the quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc.'s holdings in American Water Works were worth $802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its position in American Water Works by 803.1% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 289 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price objective on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Truist Financial reduced their target price on American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.11.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $123.29 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.10. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.28 and a 52-week high of $147.87. 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 stock has a market cap of $24.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.62.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a $0.895 dividend. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

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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