American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $139.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $117.00.

A number of other analysts have also commented on AWK. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $114.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of American Water Works from $134.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group set a $149.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on American Water Works in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK opened at $132.30 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $130.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.85. American Water Works has a 1 year low of $120.63 and a 1 year high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.04. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 21.93%.The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Equities analysts expect that American Water Works will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued 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 2.5%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.17%.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AWK. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Water Works during the third quarter worth $27,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.