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 3.4 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. It also provides water and wastewater services on various military installations; and undertakes contracts with municipal customers, primarily to operate and manage water and wastewater facilities, as well as offers other related services. In addition, the company operates approximately 80 surface water treatment plants; 480 groundwater treatment plants; 160 wastewater treatment plants; 52,500 miles of transmission, distribution, and collection mains and pipes; 1,100 groundwater wells; 1,700 water and wastewater pumping stations; 1,300 treated water storage facilities; and 76 dams. It serves approximately 14 million people with drinking water, wastewater, and other related services in 24 states. American Water Works Company, Inc. was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey.
American Water Works Trading Up 0.9 %
NYSE:AWK opened at $156.77 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.12. The company has a market capitalization of $28.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Water Works has a 12 month low of $129.45 and a 12 month high of $189.65.
American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $937.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $979.52 million. American Water Works had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 33.99%. The firm's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.
American Water Works Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 9th will be issued a $0.655 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 8th. This represents a $2.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.64%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts have commented on AWK shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on American Water Works from $172.00 to $157.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $139.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 18th. Northcoast Research started coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Monday, July 18th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on American Water Works from $149.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 2nd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott raised American Water Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $168.00.
Insider Activity at American Water Works
In other American Water Works news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 1,029 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.52, for a total value of $149,740.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,054 shares in the company, valued at $1,754,098.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Water Works news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.10, for a total value of $105,405.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,728,008.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 1,029 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.52, for a total value of $149,740.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,754,098.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
