DNB Asset Management AS Trims Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

DNB Asset Management AS reduced its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 30.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,495 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $7,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in American Water Works by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,429,000 after buying an additional 4,762 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at about $302,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in American Water Works by 184.4% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 5,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 3,561 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AWK. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $149.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $137.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.11.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $124.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $24.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $133.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.41. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.28 and a 1-year high of $147.87.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a $0.895 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

American Water Works Company Profile

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.