American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.12 EPS

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.12), FiscalAI reports. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 21.61%.The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works updated its FY 2026 guidance to 6.020-6.120 EPS.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $132.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,811,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,826,269. American Water Works has a 52-week low of $121.28 and a 52-week high of $150.51. The company has a market cap of $25.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a $0.895 dividend. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 target price on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “hold” rating and a $137.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.20.

More American Water Works News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board raised the quarterly cash dividend to $0.895 (an 8.2% increase), payable June 2; this supports income investors and signals confidence in cash flow. American Water Announces Dividend Increase
• Positive Sentiment: Company successfully issued $700M of 5.200% senior notes due 2036, securing long?term funding (useful for operations/strategic transactions). Q1 Results & Capital Raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Company reiterated FY?2026 EPS guidance of $6.02–$6.12 (roughly in line with the ~6.09 consensus), so management did not lower forward targets. Guidance Affirmation
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate and community items (charitable grants across states; industry award for a senior engineering leader) are positive for reputation but unlikely to move near?term stock performance. Charitable Grants Industry Award
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 adjusted EPS of $1.01 missed expectations (Zacks consensus ~$1.10; some reports cited $1.13), and GAAP EPS fell to $1.00 from $1.05 a year ago — a clear near?term catalyst for the stock decline. Earnings Miss (Zacks) Press Release / Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed — $1.21B reported vs. ~$1.28B consensus — increasing investor concern that growth drivers and rate timing may be softer than modeled. Revenue Details
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 included transaction costs tied to the proposed Essential Utilities merger (and one?time interest items); adjusted results remove these, but the merger-related costs and related uncertainty may weigh on sentiment until clarity on transaction timing/outcome. Merger Costs Mention

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 82.6% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA increased its stake in American Water Works by 81.3% in the 4th quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 141.7% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.