Truist Financial Cuts American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Price Target to $138.00

Key Points

• Truist Financial lowered American Water Works’ price target to $138 from $139 while maintaining a “Hold” rating, implying 4.23% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $140.90, with two Buy ratings, eight Holds and one Sell.
• American Water Works reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $1.61 in EPS versus the $1.53 estimate and $1.35 billion in revenue, up 6.2% year over year.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by analysts at Truist Financial from $139.00 to $138.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "hold" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Truist Financial's price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.23% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $140.90.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.8%

AWK traded up $1.09 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $132.40. 1,437,918 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,996,904. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. American Water Works has a one year low of $120.57 and a one year high of $147.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $129.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.60.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.35%.The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 11.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,466 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,429,000 after purchasing an additional 4,762 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in American Water Works during the second quarter worth about $302,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.5% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted 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 valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 3,561 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

About American Water Works

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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