State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 8,900 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,097 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,900 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in American Water Works were worth $6,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted 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 valued at $2,429,000 after acquiring an additional 4,762 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the second quarter valued at $302,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 184.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 5,492 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 3,561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded American Water Works from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $139.00 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.20.

Key Headlines Impacting American Water Works

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board raised the quarterly cash dividend 8.2% to $0.895/share (payable June 2; ex‑dividend May 12), supporting income investors and signaling confidence in cash flow. American Water Announces Dividend Increase
• Positive Sentiment: Management affirmed FY2026 EPS guidance of $6.02–$6.12 (roughly in line with the ~$6.09 consensus), and reiterated long‑term targets — which tempers the Q1 miss by keeping full‑year expectations intact. AMERICAN WATER REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2026 RESULTS ON TRACK; AFFIRMS 2026 EPS GUIDANCE AND LONG‑TERM TARGETS
• Neutral Sentiment: Completed a $700M senior note issuance (5.200% due 2036) in April — provides funding and balance‑sheet flexibility but increases long‑term fixed obligations. AMERICAN WATER REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2026 RESULTS ON TRACK; AFFIRMS 2026 EPS GUIDANCE AND LONG‑TERM TARGETS
• Neutral Sentiment: Company and its foundation announced multiple regional charitable grants and an industry award for a senior engineering leader — positive for ESG/community relations but unlikely to move near‑term earnings. Maryland American Water Proudly Recognizes American Water Charitable Foundation 2026 Water and Environment Grantees
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 results missed estimates: adjusted EPS $1.01 (GAAP $1.00) vs. analyst expectations (~$1.10–$1.13) and revenue $1.21B vs. consensus ~$1.28B — the earnings and revenue shortfall is the primary driver of negative near‑term sentiment. American Water Works (AWK) Q1 Earnings Miss Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue growth was modest (Q1 revenue +5.7% YoY) but below consensus — signals weaker near‑term demand or timing differences in regulated revenue recovery. View Press Release

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $132.08 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $25.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $135.11 and a 200-day moving average of $132.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.28 and a 52-week high of $150.51.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.61% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.895 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 58.17%.

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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