Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Raises Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 5,877.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 99,921 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $14,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. PFG Advisors boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 9,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after buying an additional 2,429 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in American Water Works by 2.2% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in American Water Works by 28.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 11,577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares during the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 3,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in American Water Works by 144.4% during the 2nd quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 14,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,049,000 after acquiring an additional 8,703 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho set a $145.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Cowen initiated coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on American Water Works from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $142.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on 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, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.00.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $130.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $137.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.90. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.04. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 21.93%.The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be paid a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.17%.

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.