American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Posted by George Bondi on Oct 23rd, 2026

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK – Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $144.14 and last traded at $142.4140, with a volume of 48,874 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $143.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $139.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of American Water Works from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Mizuho raised their price target on American Water Works from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.75.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on American Water Works

American Water Works Trading Down 0.7%

The stock has a market cap of $28.26 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $135.00 and its 200 day moving average is $131.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.8950 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 62.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AWK. Gibbs Wealth Management lifted its position in American Water Works by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 7,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 40,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,179,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 73.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Cross Staff Investments Inc acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $155,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in American Water Works by 31.5% in the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 24,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,337,000 after acquiring an additional 5,840 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

About American Water Works

(Get Free Report)

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.