American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $140.11 According to Analysts

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $138.25.

A number of brokerages recently commented on AWK. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on American Water Works from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on American Water Works from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,712,173,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 35.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,911,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,962,116,000 after buying an additional 3,883,057 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,171,477,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 4,351,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $592,081,000 after purchasing an additional 179,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter worth $443,787,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.0%

AWK opened at $133.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.43 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.58. American Water Works has a 52 week low of $120.57 and a 52 week high of $145.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $134.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Water Works will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.8950 per share. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is 62.05%.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc is a public water and wastewater utility that provides essential services to residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in the United States. Through its regulated operations, the company collects, treats, distributes, and manages drinking water, as well as collects and treats wastewater.

The company also provides services through businesses that support utilities, municipalities, military installations, and other public-sector customers.