FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Buys 1,178 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the quarter. American Water Works comprises 1.0% of FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter valued at about $292,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1,577.3% during the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 0.7% during the second quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. now owns 21,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,945,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 12.4% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $819,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter valued at about $213,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AWK. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $141.13.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.9%

American Water Works stock opened at $136.32 on Monday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50. The stock has a market cap of $26.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.35.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 21.91%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. Research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 59.64%.

American Water Works Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.