Zacks Research Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for AWK

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for American Water Works in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 12th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $1.22 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.19. The consensus estimate for American Water Works’ current full-year earnings is $5.71 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for American Water Works’ FY2026 earnings at $6.13 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $6.44 EPS.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on AWK. StockNews.com upgraded American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.86.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.3 %

AWK opened at $144.43 on Friday. American Water Works has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $152.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.16 billion, a PE ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $129.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $300,739,000 after acquiring an additional 125,128 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $277,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 65,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,123,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 42,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 65.5% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 106,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,557,000 after acquiring an additional 42,094 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently 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.