Wall Street Zen Downgrades American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) to Strong Sell

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 target price on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Truist Financial cut 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.60.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $134.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.90, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. American Water Works has a 12-month low of $120.57 and a 12-month high of $147.87.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.17%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in American Water Works by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake 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. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

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.