Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 12,900 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 12.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 93,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,900 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $12,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth $344,645,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in American Water Works by 16.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,442,004 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $478,817,000 after purchasing an additional 494,868 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in American Water Works by 928.1% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 531,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,904,000 after buying an additional 479,586 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 81.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,043,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $145,217,000 after buying an additional 469,641 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,629,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,565,269,000 after buying an additional 380,870 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $133.47 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.63 and a 52-week high of $155.50. The company has a market capitalization of $26.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $130.50 and a 200-day moving average of $136.79.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.04. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 21.93%.The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. American Water Works’s quarterly 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 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen initiated 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 target on the stock. Cowen initiated coverage on American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on American Water Works from $134.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group set a $149.00 price objective on American Water Works in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $139.00 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

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.