Groupe la Francaise Increases Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Groupe la Francaise lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 9.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,415 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $10,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in American Water Works by 10.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 52,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,776,000 after acquiring an additional 5,128 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its stake in American Water Works by 9.8% in the first quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 31,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in American Water Works by 7.4% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 12,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in American Water Works during the first quarter valued at $1,012,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AWK shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $114.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Argus lifted their price objective on American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group dropped 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 report on Tuesday, August 12th. Cowen started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Water Works from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.00.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.3%

AWK stock opened at $130.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.22. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.74 and a twelve month high of $155.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 10.48%. American Water Works’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.17%.

American Water Works Profile

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.