American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09, Zacks reports. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 21.77%. American Water Works updated its FY 2025 guidance to 5.650-5.750 EPS.

American Water Works Price Performance

AWK stock traded up $0.65 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $127.82. 1,805,704 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,231,284. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $124.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.92. American Water Works has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $150.68. The company has a market cap of $24.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.72.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $129.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.00.

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.