American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Sold by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 647 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 373.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 65,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,060,000 after buying an additional 51,827 shares during the period. Patten Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 6,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 20,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,854,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 3,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

American Water Works stock opened at $141.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.99. The company has a market cap of $27.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.32. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 21.91%.The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AWK shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.75.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.