Swiss National Bank Acquires 38,300 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its stake in American Water Works by 7.2% in the first quarter, buying 38,300 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 572,900 shares worth about $77.97 million.
• American Water Works reported Q1 earnings of $1.01 per share, missing Wall Street estimates of $1.10, though revenue came in above expectations at $1.21 billion and rose 5.7% year over year.
• The utility raised its quarterly dividend to $0.895 per share, equivalent to an annualized payout of $3.58 and a yield of 2.7%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average target price of $140.60.

Swiss National Bank grew its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 572,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 38,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of American Water Works worth $77,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its stake in American Water Works by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 489,371 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,863,000 after buying an additional 47,352 shares during the period. TSP Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $1,559,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in American Water Works in the first quarter valued at $1,347,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 21,430 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,797,000 after purchasing an additional 9,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Country Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 178,599 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $23,307,000 after purchasing an additional 11,401 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $131.43 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.67. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.57 and a 12-month high of $147.87. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. American Water Works'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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AWK. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group increased their price target on American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have 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.com, American Water Works has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $140.60.

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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