American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Announces Earnings Results

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09, Zacks reports. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 21.77%. American Water Works updated its FY 2025 guidance to 5.650-5.750 EPS.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AWK traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $127.82. 1,805,704 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,231,284. American Water Works has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The company has a market cap of $24.91 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $124.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.92.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $129.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.00.

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.