Zacks Research Issues Positive Outlook for AWK Earnings

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for American Water Works in a report issued on Thursday, December 5th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $1.11 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.10. The consensus estimate for American Water Works' current full-year earnings is $5.28 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for American Water Works' FY2026 earnings at $6.11 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho downgraded American Water Works from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.29.

American Water Works Price Performance

American Water Works stock traded down $1.67 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $130.70. 1,227,089 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,211,371. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $137.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.87. The company has a market capitalization of $25.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.70. American Water Works has a 12-month low of $113.34 and a 12-month high of $150.68.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 155.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 31.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.