Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Raises Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 59.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,551 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 150.5% in the first quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 13,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,890,000 after acquiring an additional 8,343 shares during the last quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the first quarter worth $564,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in American Water Works by 3.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 644,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $87,672,000 after purchasing an additional 23,796 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in American Water Works by 9.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 68,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,329,000 after purchasing an additional 6,136 shares during the period. Finally, Aureus Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter valued at $22,710,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $134.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $129.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.04. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.57 and a 1-year high of $147.87.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.08. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The business’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. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AWK. Truist Financial lowered their price target on American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.10.

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.