Cohen & Steers Inc. Reduces Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Cohen & Steers Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 35.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 462,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 251,929 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of American Water Works worth $60,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $337,004,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 383.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,596,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $361,355,000 after buying an additional 2,058,656 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,386,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,487,000 after buying an additional 657,849 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,227,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,650,543,000 after buying an additional 597,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $69,855,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.4%

AWK opened at $126.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.62. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.57 and a 12 month high of $147.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $128.50 and a 200 day moving average of $130.65.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AWK. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial reduced their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $137.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.11.

American Water Works 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.