SEB Asset Management AB Takes $5.43 Million Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 39,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,431,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew 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. Faithward Advisors LLC grew 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. Finally, PFG Investments LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 13,108 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,711,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AWK. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.60.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $133.83 on Thursday. 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 has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $127.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.69. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.09). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.17%.The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

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

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.