SFE Investment Counsel Lowers Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

SFE Investment Counsel lessened its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 14.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,553 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price target on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.00.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of AWK stock traded up $0.23 on Friday, reaching $130.78. 1,679,113 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,328,022. 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 stock has a market cap of $25.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $126.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.59. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.57 and a 1-year high of $147.87.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for 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%. American Water Works’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

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

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.