Sandro Wealth Management LLC Buys New Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Sandro Wealth Management LLC established a new position in American Water Works in Q4, buying 8,958 shares worth about $1.17 million, and institutional ownership now stands at roughly 86.6%.
• American Water missed Q1 EPS ($1.01 vs. $1.10 est.), which weighed on the stock, though management reiterated multi‑year targets including ~8% EPS growth for 2026 and expects the Essential merger to close by end of Q1 2027.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.895 (annualized $3.58), up from $0.83, implying a yield of about 2.8%.

Sandro Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,169,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Faithward Advisors LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on AWK shares. Barclays upped their price target on American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America raised American Water Works from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $117.00 to $139.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price target on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $140.44.

Key American Water Works News

Here are the key news stories impacting American Water Works this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management reiterated multi-year growth targets and is targeting ~8% EPS growth for 2026; management expects the Essential merger to close by the end of Q1 2027, which could expand scale and regulated rate base over time. MSN: Essential merger & 8% EPS growth
• Positive Sentiment: Company described an H2-weighted growth path on the Q1 call and emphasized acquisitions, new rates and pending deals as drivers of customer and revenue growth — supports medium‑term earnings trajectory. TipRanks: H2-weighted growth
• Positive Sentiment: Industry/regulatory backdrop: Pennsylvania American Water highlighted a new AWWA report stressing the need for long‑term U.S. water infrastructure investment — a favorable narrative for regulated utilities that seek rate recovery for capital programs. PR Newswire: Infrastructure needs
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 earnings materials and transcripts are available for investors to review for details on guidance, rate cases and capex; slides/presentation provide management’s detail on throughput and cash flow timing. Seeking Alpha: Q1 presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/value comparison: Zacks ran a peer-value piece comparing AWK to California Water Service (CWT) for investors evaluating trade-offs in the water-utility space. Zacks: CWT vs AWK
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate/PR items: American Water is marking Drinking Water Week and announcing charitable grants — positive for community relations but unlikely to move the stock materially. PR Newswire: Drinking Water Week
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 results: EPS came in at $1.01, below consensus (~$1.10), which is the primary near‑term catalyst weighing on the stock despite revenue growth to $1.21B. The miss is the likely driver of the intraday downward move as investors re‑price short‑term expectations. Zacks: Q1 EPS miss

American Water Works Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $127.43 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.28 and a 52-week high of $150.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $135.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.37.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.17%.The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a $0.895 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.17%.

American Water Works Company 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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