Analysts Issue Forecasts for American Water Works Company, Inc.'s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:AWK)

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for American Water Works in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 30th. Zacks Research analyst J. Saha now expects that the utilities provider will earn $0.98 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.00. The consensus estimate for American Water Works' current full-year earnings is $5.24 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for American Water Works' Q2 2024 earnings at $1.49 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $1.76 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.00 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $5.23 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.58 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.85 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.68 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.26 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.97 EPS.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on AWK. Evercore ISI downgraded American Water Works from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE AWK traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $125.98. 2,778,750 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,492,095. The company has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. American Water Works has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $151.24.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.04). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.30% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. American Water Works's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the third quarter worth about $277,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 0.7% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 96,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,010,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 15.4% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 36,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,561,000 after buying an additional 4,909 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 39.7% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 43,782 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,422,000 after buying an additional 12,433 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Water Works news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total transaction of $100,814.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,942,141.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 57.87%.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.