American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Stock: WASHINGTON TRUST Co Boosts Holdings

WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 4,720.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 74,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,829 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $9,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the first quarter valued at $1,347,000. Jericho Financial LLP bought a new position in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth $3,506,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth $11,899,000. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,092,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 104,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,255,000 after buying an additional 19,043 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of American Water Works stock traded down $0.40 on Friday, hitting $142.83. 1,978,040 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,881,741. The company has a fifty day moving average of $135.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.97. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $120.57 and a one year high of $144.14. The company has a market capitalization of $28.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.35%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.8950 per share. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 62.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on American Water Works from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $139.00 price objective on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.75.

American Water Works Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc is a public water and wastewater utility that provides essential services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers. Through its regulated businesses, the company supplies drinking water, collects and treats wastewater, and manages related infrastructure, including treatment plants, pipelines, storage facilities and customer service systems.

Founded in 1886, American Water has grown into one of the largest water and wastewater service providers in the United States.