Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK – Free Report) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,181 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,227,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,650,543,000 after buying an additional 597,916 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in American Water Works by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,551,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,607,886,000 after purchasing an additional 120,870 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,039,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $655,025,000 after purchasing an additional 33,359 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in American Water Works by 3.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,779,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $386,882,000 after purchasing an additional 98,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,639,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $344,462,000 after acquiring an additional 22,827 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
American Water Works Trading Up 2.0%
Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $123.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.37. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.57 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $130.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.13 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.62.
American Water Works Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 63.48%.
American Water Works News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting American Water Works this week:
- Positive Sentiment: American Water completed its $315 million purchase of Nexus Water Group systems across eight states, adding about 47,000 customers and expanding its regulated footprint, which could support long-term revenue and earnings growth. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: The company reiterated its acquisition-led expansion strategy alongside a planned $3.7 billion 2026 capital spending program, reinforcing expectations for continued infrastructure investment and regulated asset growth.
- Neutral Sentiment: American Water also highlighted its participation in industry discussions on affordability at the Western Conference of Public Service Commissioners, which underscores its regulatory focus but is unlikely to be a direct near-term catalyst.
- Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary about AWK’s valuation and share-price weakness suggests investors are still weighing the stock’s premium utility valuation against its slower near-term price momentum.
- Negative Sentiment: Despite the acquisition news, the stock has recently underperformed peers, indicating some lingering market skepticism about execution, financing, or near-term upside.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AWK shares. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.11.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on American Water Works
About American Water Works
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.
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