American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.04 EPS

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.04), FiscalAI reports. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. American Water Works updated its FY 2026 guidance to 6.020-6.120 EPS.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of American Water Works stock traded down $2.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $131.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,357,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,751,825. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.77. American Water Works has a 1 year low of $121.28 and a 1 year high of $155.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.73.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Faithward Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on American Water Works from $142.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $134.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America raised shares of American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $139.00 in a report on Monday, January 12th. Mizuho set a $145.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.89.

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.