Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 153,627 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Russell Investments increased its American Water Works holdings by 26.7%, adding 153,627 shares to reach 729,309 shares, valued at about $94.4 million.
• American Water Works reported quarterly EPS of $2.00 and revenue of $1.51 billion, both below analyst expectations, though revenue rose 4.1% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.895 per share, equivalent to a 2.4% annualized yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was Hold, with a $144.12 average price target.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 729,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 153,627 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.37% of American Water Works worth $94,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Barr E S & Co. purchased a new position in American Water Works during the 3rd quarter valued at about $280,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 9.5% in the third quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 580,630 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,394,000 after purchasing an additional 50,571 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.7% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 10,368 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 57.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 88,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,415,000 after purchasing an additional 32,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 5,433.9% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 91,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,808,000 after purchasing an additional 89,551 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of AWK traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $149.55. 1,261,144 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,103,428. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.57 and a 12-month high of $153.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $29.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.26% and a return on equity of 10.14%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.8950 per share. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AWK. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. UBS Group lowered shares of American Water Works from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $153.00 to $162.00 in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Truist Financial set a $139.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Mizuho set a $149.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $144.12.

Top American Water Works Stories

These are some of the AWK stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Argus issued a positive forecast for AWK’s share price, providing a favorable analyst signal. Argus Issues Positive Forecast for American Water Works Stock Price
• Positive Sentiment: Stone County voters approved the sale of a public water system to Missouri American Water. The approval could support customer-base growth, though the announcement provides no transaction value or expected earnings contribution. Stone County Approves Water-System Sale to Missouri American Water
• Neutral Sentiment: West Virginia American Water announced $580,000 of infrastructure upgrades in Oak Hill. The project reflects ongoing investment in the utility’s system, but its modest scale is unlikely to materially affect company-wide results. West Virginia American Water Announces Oak Hill Upgrades

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc. is a U.S. water and wastewater utility that provides services to residential, commercial, industrial, and public-sector customers. Its operations include treating and distributing drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and maintaining the infrastructure needed to deliver those services. The company operates regulated water and wastewater utilities across multiple states, serving communities in regions including the Northeast, Midwest, and South. Through contracted operations, it also provides water and wastewater services to certain military installations and municipal customers.

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