Montanaro Asset Management Ltd Lowers Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd lowered its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 760 shares during the period. American Water Works comprises about 3.1% of Montanaro Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $12,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,248,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,724,624,000 after buying an additional 141,038 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in American Water Works by 24.1% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,532,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $668,566,000 after buying an additional 878,951 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 881.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,704,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $546,562,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,352 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 3.6% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,479,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $513,282,000 after acquiring an additional 121,680 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in American Water Works by 1.1% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,270,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $323,671,000 after purchasing an additional 24,239 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $128.48 on Monday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.74 and a 12 month high of $155.50. The stock has a market cap of $25.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $139.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.04. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th will be issued a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $142.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus upped their target price on shares of American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.38.

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.