American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Raised to Sell at Wall Street Zen

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

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on AWK. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 target price on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.60.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:AWK opened at $135.08 on Friday. 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 $127.56 and a 200-day moving average of $130.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.61. American Water Works has a 52 week low of $120.57 and a 52 week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. Analysts predict that American Water Works will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,219,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $290,729,000 after purchasing an additional 47,977 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 489,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,863,000 after purchasing an additional 47,352 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,347,000. TSP Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,559,000. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 21,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,797,000 after purchasing an additional 9,698 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.