Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 20,900 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 31.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,900 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $11,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. 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. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in American Water Works by 803.1% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AWK. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.11.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $124.63 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.83. 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 Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.57 and a 1-year high of $147.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.62.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during 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%.American Water Works’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

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.