Zacks Research Has Bearish Forecast for AWK FY2024 Earnings

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their FY2024 earnings estimates for American Water Works in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, November 20th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will earn $5.27 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $5.28. The consensus estimate for American Water Works’ current full-year earnings is $5.27 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for American Water Works’ Q2 2026 earnings at $1.53 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AWK. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho lowered shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.29.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.4 %

American Water Works stock opened at $136.76 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.65 billion, a PE ratio of 27.08, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. American Water Works has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $150.68.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.59%.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 21.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,023,000 after buying an additional 5,564 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 7.4% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 420,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,446,000 after purchasing an additional 29,100 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 52.6% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 19,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,326,000 after purchasing an additional 6,562 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 350.4% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 10,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 8,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,610,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.