Swedbank AB Grows Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in American Water Works by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 282,861 shares valued at about $36.9 million.
• American Water Works reported Q1 EPS of $1.01, missing analyst expectations of $1.10, even as revenue came in above estimates at $1.21 billion and rose 5.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.895 per share from $0.83, implying an annualized dividend of $3.58 and a yield of 2.9%.

Swedbank AB increased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 282,861 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 25,448 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.14% of American Water Works worth $36,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AWK. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 383.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,596,125 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $361,355,000 after buying an additional 2,058,656 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,386,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $311,487,000 after buying an additional 657,849 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,227,049 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,650,543,000 after buying an additional 597,916 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in American Water Works by 81.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,043,899 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $145,217,000 after purchasing an additional 469,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,769,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AWK stock opened at $125.31 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $132.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.30. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.28 and a twelve month high of $147.87. The company has a market capitalization of $24.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.09). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. The company'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. Research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.895 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AWK. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of American Water Works from $149.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.56.

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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