Prudential PLC Sells 6,221 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Prudential PLC decreased its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 92,862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,221 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $12,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in American Water Works by 803.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AWK shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.11.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $124.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.62. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $120.57 and a twelve month high of $147.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.83.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced 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%. American Water Works’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business 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 predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a $0.895 dividend. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 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.