Zacks Research Has Bullish Forecast for AWK Q4 Earnings

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) – Analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of American Water Works in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, November 20th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $1.10 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.09. The consensus estimate for American Water Works’ current full-year earnings is $5.27 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for American Water Works’ Q2 2025 earnings at $1.51 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.90 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.21 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.67 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.18 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $2.09 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AWK. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.29.

American Water Works Price Performance

American Water Works stock opened at $137.31 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $150.68.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.2% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 63,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 3rd quarter worth $713,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,564,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $665,163,000 after purchasing an additional 43,754 shares in the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the 3rd quarter worth about $538,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc raised its position in American Water Works by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About American Water Works

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.