American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 572,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,514 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $77,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in American Water Works by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 489,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,863,000 after acquiring an additional 47,352 shares during the period. TSP Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at $1,559,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 21,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,797,000 after purchasing an additional 9,698 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter valued at about $1,347,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 178,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,307,000 after purchasing an additional 11,401 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting American Water Works

Here are the key news stories impacting American Water Works this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter results exceeded expectations. AWK reported GAAP and adjusted earnings of $1.61 per share, up from $1.48 a year ago and ahead of analyst estimates ranging from $1.53 to $1.59. Revenue increased 6.2% year over year to approximately $1.35 billion, also surpassing expectations. American Water Works Q2 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Growth initiatives and regulatory progress support the outlook. The company said its $3.7 billion capital investment plan remains on track, added roughly 52,000 customer connections through acquisitions, and secured important regulatory progress, including new Pennsylvania rates scheduled to take effect August 13, 2026. American Water Reports Solid Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: The proposed Essential Utilities merger continues to advance. Three states have approved the transaction, a settlement in principle has been reached in Texas, and integration planning is progressing. Completion could expand AWK’s customer base and create longer-term strategic benefits, although regulatory approvals remain outstanding. American Water Reports Solid Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: 2026 earnings guidance was reaffirmed. AWK maintained its $6.02-$6.12 adjusted EPS target, broadly consistent with the roughly $6.08 analyst consensus. The lack of an increase may limit the immediate upside from the earnings beat, but it confirms management’s existing growth targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: The board declared a $0.895 quarterly dividend. The payment is scheduled for September 1, 2026, for shareholders of record August 11, with an indicated yield of about 2.6%. The dividend supports AWK’s appeal as a defensive income investment, though no increase was announced. American Water Announces Quarterly Dividend

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.60.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.0%

AWK stock opened at $137.99 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.95. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.57 and a 52-week high of $147.87. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.61.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 63.48%.

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.