Seaport Res Ptn Has Bullish Outlook for AWK FY2024 Earnings

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) – Equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn raised their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for American Water Works in a report issued on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $5.28 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $5.25. The consensus estimate for American Water Works’ current full-year earnings is $5.28 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for American Water Works’ FY2025 earnings at $5.73 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $6.14 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $6.48 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on AWK. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho downgraded American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Four equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.29.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $121.82 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.71. 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 one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $131.69 and its 200 day moving average is $137.48.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its position in American Water Works by 4.2% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Invesco LLC increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 60.59%.

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.