American Water Works (AWK) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) is the largest publicly traded water and wastewater utility company in the United States, providing essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company’s primary activities include the treatment, distribution and management of drinking water, as well as the collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater under state-regulated rate structures.

Operating through a network of regulated water and wastewater utilities, American Water serves approximately 15 million people across 46 states. Beyond its core regulated operations, the company offers contract operations and maintenance services to municipal and private-sector clients, leveraging advanced metering, treatment technologies and asset-management tools to enhance system reliability and efficiency.

Founded in 1886, American Water has grown from a local water provider into an industry leader with headquarters in Camden, New Jersey. Throughout its history, the company has focused on expanding infrastructure, upgrading aging systems and fostering innovation in areas such as leak detection, cybersecurity and energy optimization. Its long-term initiatives emphasize resilience and sustainability to meet the evolving needs of the communities it serves.

The company is governed by a board of directors and supported by a seasoned executive leadership team responsible for strategic direction, regulatory compliance and operational excellence. American Water maintains a strong commitment to safety, environmental stewardship and customer service, aiming to deliver reliable water and wastewater solutions that support public health and community growth.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $139.91 to $142.21
• 50-Day Range: $133.72 to $149.29
• 52-Week Range: $118.74 to $155.50
• Volume: 1.41 million shs
• Average Volume: 1.24 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $27.66 billion
• P/E Ratio: 25.84
• Dividend Yield: 2.33%
• Price Target: $143.22
• Consensus Rating: Reduce

American Water Works Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

American Water Works scored higher than 84% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 26th out of 97 stocks in the utilities sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 0.9 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Reduce

Consensus Rating

American Water Works has received a consensus rating of Reduce. The company's average rating score is 1.80, and is based on 1 buy rating, 6 hold ratings, and 3 sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

American Water Works has only been the subject of 4 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 7.36%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for American Water Works are expected to grow by 7.36% in the coming year, from $5.71 to $6.13 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of American Water Works is 25.84, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 25.94.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of American Water Works is 25.84, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Utilities sector average P/E ratio of about 20.22.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

American Water Works has a PEG Ratio of 3.31. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

American Water Works has a P/B Ratio of 2.68. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.85% of the float of American Water Works has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

American Water Works has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.9, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in American Water Works has recently increased by 11.42%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

American Water Works pays a meaningful dividend of 2.37%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

American Water Works has been increasing its dividend for 18 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of American Water Works is 60.29%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, American Water Works will have a dividend payout ratio of 54.00% next year. This indicates that American Water Works will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 4.3 / 5
• Environmental Score: 1.99

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.85% of the float of American Water Works has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

American Water Works has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.9, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in American Water Works has recently increased by 11.42%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.2 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.02

News Sentiment

American Water Works has a news sentiment score of 1.02. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.69 average news sentiment score of Utilities companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 18 news articles for American Water Works this week, compared to 20 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 4 people have searched for AWK on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -60% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 6 people have added American Water Works to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -14% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, American Water Works insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $404,766.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.11% of the stock of American Water Works is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

86.58% of the stock of American Water Works is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

AWK Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have AWK shares performed this year?

American Water Works' stock was trading at $124.49 on January 1st, 2025. Since then, AWK shares have increased by 13.9% and is now trading at $141.85.

How were American Water Works' earnings last quarter?

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April, 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. American Water Works's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year.
Read the conference call transcript.

Who are American Water Works' major shareholders?

American Water Works' top institutional shareholders include Confluence Investment Management LLC (0.45%), Dudley & Shanley Inc. (0.08%), Wesbanco Bank Inc. (0.04%) and Czech National Bank (0.02%). Insiders that own company stock include Martha Clark Goss, Melanie M Kennedy, Melissa K Wikle and Michael Marberry.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of American Water Works?

Shares of AWK stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of American Water Works own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that American Water Works investors own include Waste Connections (WCN), The RMR Group (RMR), iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), AU Optronics (AUOTY), Triple Flag Precious Metals (TFPM) and Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 4/30/2025
• Record date for 6/3 Dividend: 5/13/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 6/3 Dividend: 5/13/2025
• Dividend Payable: 6/03/2025
• Today: 7/09/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 7/30/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Utilities
• Industry: UTIL - WATER SPLY
• Sub-Industry: Water Utilities
• Current Symbol: NYSE:AWK
• CIK: 1410636
• Web: www.amwater.com
• Phone: (856) 955-4001
• Fax: 856-346-8360
• Employees: 6,700
• Year Founded: 1886

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for American Water Works: $143.22
• High Price Target: $164.00
• Low Price Target: $124.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +1.0%
• Consensus Rating: Reduce
• Rating Score (0-4): 1.80
• Research Coverage: 10 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $5.49
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 25.84
• Forward P/E Ratio: 24.84
• P/E Growth: 3.31
• Net Income: $1.05 billion
• Net Margins: 22.24%
• Pretax Margin: 28.81%
• Return on Equity: 10.35%
• Return on Assets: 3.32%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.26
• Current Ratio: 0.49
• Quick Ratio: 0.44

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $4.68 billion
• Price / Sales: 5.91
• Cash Flow: $9.57 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 14.83
• Book Value: $53.01 per share
• Price / Book: 2.68

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 195,010,000
• Free Float: 194,797,000
• Market Cap: $27.66 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.69