Brokerages Set American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Price Target at $140.89

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $140.8889.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $117.00 to $139.00 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $114.00 to $124.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group set a $149.00 target price on American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of American Water Works from $134.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.1%

AWK stock opened at $135.84 on Thursday. American Water Works has a 12 month low of $121.28 and a 12 month high of $155.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $130.06 and its 200 day moving average is $134.17. The company has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 21.61%.American Water Works’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Water Works will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Werlinich Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 4,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Obermeyer Wealth Partners lifted its stake in American Water Works by 3.4% during the second quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 2,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

About American Water Works

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.