American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Issues FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 5.250-5.300 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 5.250. The company issued revenue guidance of -. American Water Works also updated its FY 2025 guidance to 5.650-5.750 EPS.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK opened at $138.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s fifty day moving average is $142.81 and its 200-day moving average is $136.11. American Water Works has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.64.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 9.84%. Sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 60.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wolfe Research raised shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.08% 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.