10,747 Shares in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Purchased by Stance Capital LLC

Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,402,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $125.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $127.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.51. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.57 and a 12 month high of $147.87. The company has a market capitalization of $24.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.62.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a $0.895 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AWK. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $137.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.11.

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.