American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 147,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,897 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $19,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 71.7% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Faithward Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 5.4% during the third quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK stock opened at $125.43 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $24.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.62. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.57 and a 12-month high of $147.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.75.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a $0.895 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 target price on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.11.

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.