Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Has $2.42 Million Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 10.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in American Water Works by 881.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,704,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $546,562,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,352 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 24.1% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,532,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $668,566,000 after purchasing an additional 878,951 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in American Water Works by 114.3% in the first quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 1,505,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,296,000 after acquiring an additional 802,639 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter valued at approximately $103,053,000. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON boosted its stake in American Water Works by 2,486.6% in the first quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 571,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,246,000 after acquiring an additional 549,002 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of AWK opened at $142.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $27.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.70. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.98.

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

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 59.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cowen began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Argus lifted their price target on shares of American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.75.

About American Water Works

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.