Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 6,669 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 109,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,669 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $14,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 150,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,656,000 after purchasing an additional 48,092 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 55,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,213,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 570,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,423,000 after purchasing an additional 26,382 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $98,000. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK stock opened at $123.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $132.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.31. The company has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.64. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.28 and a 1-year high of $147.87.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a $0.895 dividend. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on American Water Works from $149.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $137.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.56.

American Water Works Company 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.