Seaport Res Ptn Issues Optimistic Estimate for AWK Earnings

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) – Seaport Res Ptn lifted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of American Water Works in a report released on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $5.28 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $5.25. The consensus estimate for American Water Works’ current full-year earnings is $5.28 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for American Water Works’ FY2025 earnings at $5.73 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $6.14 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $6.48 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho lowered shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.00.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $122.52 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $23.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.31. American Water Works has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 12,816.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,464,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $189,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,334 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1,131.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,438,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $210,313,000 after buying an additional 1,321,320 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in American Water Works by 4,227.0% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 711,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 695,474 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 14,944.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 537,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $786,750,000 after acquiring an additional 534,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 268.0% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 537,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,868,000 after acquiring an additional 391,166 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

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.