American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Price Target Raised to $147.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $138.00 to $147.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $131.87 on Wednesday. American Water Works has a fifty-two week low of $120.57 and a fifty-two week high of $147.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.59.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% 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, equities analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.895 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Company Profile

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.