4,318 Shares in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Acquired by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,318 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AWK shares. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.90.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $134.65 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.57 and a 12-month high of $147.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.07.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.35%.The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a $0.895 dividend. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is 62.05%.

American Water Works 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.