American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Purchased by Caxton Associates LLP

Caxton Associates LLP increased its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 150.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,343 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $134.80 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.57 and a fifty-two week high of $147.87. The stock has a market cap of $26.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $128.31 and a 200-day moving average of $130.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (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 net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is 63.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. 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 research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.60.

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.