Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Purchases 7,847 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management increased its stake in American Water Works by 13% in the fourth quarter, buying 7,847 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 68,392 shares worth about $8.9 million.
• American Water Works reported Q1 earnings of $1.01 per share, missing Wall Street estimates, though revenue came in above expectations 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 payout of $3.58 and a yield of about 2.8%.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,392 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 7,847 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in American Water Works were worth $8,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 3.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 71.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Faithward Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 5.4% in 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 in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:AWK opened at $127.49 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $134.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.34. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $121.28 and a one year high of $147.87. The company has a market cap of $24.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted 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). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.17%.The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.895 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is 58.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AWK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $137.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of American Water Works from $149.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $139.11.

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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