American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Rating Increased to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.60.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.6%

American Water Works stock opened at $135.08 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $127.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $26.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.61. American Water Works has a 52 week low of $120.57 and a 52 week high of $147.87.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a $0.895 dividend. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.48%.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 82.6% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Company 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.