American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $151.32 and last traded at $151.8980, with a volume of 82,201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AWK shares. Truist Financial set a $139.00 target price on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on American Water Works from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised American Water Works from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.86.

American Water Works Trading Up 2.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.67.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 21.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a $0.8950 dividend. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.05%.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jericho Financial LLP purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,506,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth about $11,899,000. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,092,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in American Water Works by 570.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 152,829 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,109,000 after acquiring an additional 130,031 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in American Water Works by 62.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 31,156 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,034,000 after acquiring an additional 12,022 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc is a public water and wastewater utility that provides essential services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers. Through its regulated businesses, the company supplies drinking water, collects and treats wastewater, and manages related infrastructure, including treatment plants, pipelines, storage facilities and customer service systems.

Founded in 1886, American Water has grown into one of the largest water and wastewater service providers in the United States.