American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 385,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,097 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $52,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $872,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in American Water Works by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,429,000 after purchasing an additional 4,762 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 2nd quarter valued at $302,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 184.4% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 5,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 3,561 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $130.78 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.57 and a 52-week high of $147.87.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.00.

American Water Works Profile

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.