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 Monday morning.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price target on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.10.

American Water Works Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of AWK opened at $131.09 on Monday. American Water Works has a 52 week low of $120.57 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $129.65 and a 200-day moving average of $131.04.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.35%.American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.48 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 fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.895 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 62.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 5.4% in the third quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 13,108 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,711,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

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.