How to buy American Water Works Company stock | $154.52

American Water Works Company, Inc is an utilities-regulated water business based in the US. American Water Works Company shares (AWK) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. American Water Works Company employs 6,800 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$3.8 billion.

How to buy shares in American Water Works Company

1. Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for American Water Works Company. Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: AWK. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until American Water Works Company reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of USD$154.52, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of American Water Works Company, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of American Water Works Company. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

American Water Works Company share price

Use our graph to track the performance of AWK stocks over time.

American Water Works Company shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2020-12-27.

Latest market close	USD$154.52
52-week range	USD$95.4979 - USD$172.56
50-day moving average	USD$154.1424
200-day moving average	USD$145.3957
Wall St. target price	USD$159.57
PE ratio	40.8603
Dividend yield	USD$2.2 (1.48%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	USD$3.65

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Is it a good time to buy American Water Works Company stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of American Water Works Company, Inc by TradingView

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

American Water Works Company price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $154.52 from 2020-10-19

1 week (2021-01-15)	-3.26%
1 month (2020-12-23)	4.82%
3 months (2020-10-23)	0.29%
6 months (2020-07-23)	6.65%

1 year (2020-01-23)	14.21%
2 years (2019-01-23)	63.96%
3 years (2018-01-23)	83.52%
5 years (2016-01-22)	147.47%

Is American Water Works Company under- or over-valued?

Valuing American Water Works Company stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of American Water Works Company's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

American Water Works Company's P/E ratio

American Water Works Company's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 41x. In other words, American Water Works Company shares trade at around 41x recent earnings.

That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.

American Water Works Company's PEG ratio

American Water Works Company's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 4.0947. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into American Water Works Company's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

American Water Works Company's EBITDA

American Water Works Company's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is USD$1.9 billion.

The EBITDA is a measure of a American Water Works Company's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

American Water Works Company financials

Revenue TTM	USD$3.8 billion
Operating margin TTM	34.43%
Gross profit TTM	USD$2.1 billion
Return on assets TTM	3.47%
Return on equity TTM	10.42%
Profit margin	17.63%
Book value	$35.924
Market capitalisation	USD$27 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting American Water Works Company shares

There are currently 1.3 million American Water Works Company shares held short by investors – that's known as American Water Works Company's "short interest". This figure is 14.6% down from 1.5 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting American Water Works Company shares can be evaluated.

American Water Works Company's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

American Water Works Company's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of American Water Works Company shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of American Water Works Company shares traded daily (recently around 925061.26760563). American Water Works Company's SIR currently stands at 1.42. In other words for every 100,000 American Water Works Company shares traded daily on the market, roughly 1420 shares are currently held short.

However American Water Works Company's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of American Water Works Company shares, or, against the total number of tradable American Water Works Company shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case American Water Works Company's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 American Water Works Company shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.0083% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable American Water Works Company shares, roughly 8 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against American Water Works Company.

Find out more about how you can short American Water Works Company stock.

American Water Works Company's environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like American Water Works Company.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

American Water Works Company's total ESG risk score

Total ESG risk: 32.02

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and American Water Works Company's overall score of 32.02 (as at 01/01/2019) is nothing to write home about – landing it in it in the 55th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like American Water Works Company is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

American Water Works Company's environmental score

Environmental score: 14.85/100

American Water Works Company's environmental score of 14.85 puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that American Water Works Company is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

American Water Works Company's social score

Social score: 13.51/100

American Water Works Company's social score of 13.51 puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that American Water Works Company is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

American Water Works Company's governance score

Governance score: 6.66/100

American Water Works Company's governance score puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that American Water Works Company is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

American Water Works Company's controversy score

Controversy score: 2/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. American Water Works Company scored a 2 out of 5 for controversy – the second-highest score possible, reflecting that American Water Works Company has, for the most part, managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

American Water Works Company, Inc was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score	32.02
Total ESG percentile	54.95
Environmental score	14.85
Environmental score percentile	4
Social score	13.51
Social score percentile	4
Governance score	6.66
Governance score percentile	4
Level of controversy	2

American Water Works Company share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 56.14% of net profits

Recently American Water Works Company has paid out, on average, around 56.14% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 1.48% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), American Water Works Company shareholders could enjoy a 1.48% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In American Water Works Company's case, that would currently equate to about $2.2 per share.

American Water Works Company's payout ratio would broadly be considered high, and as such this stock could appeal to those looking to generate an income. Bear in mind however that companies should normally also look to re-invest a decent amount of net profits to ensure future growth.

American Water Works Company's most recent dividend payout was on 2 March 2021. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 5 February 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have American Water Works Company's shares ever split?

American Water Works Company's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 26 July 1996. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 2 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your American Water Works Company shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for American Water Works Company shares which in turn could have impacted American Water Works Company's share price.

American Water Works Company share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, American Water Works Company's shares have ranged in value from as little as $95.4979 up to $172.56. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while American Water Works Company's is 0.1843. This would suggest that American Water Works Company's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).

American Water Works Company overview

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 16 states serving approximately 3.4 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, such as 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. It also provides various warranty protection programs to residential customers; and water and wastewater services on various military installations. In addition, the company undertakes contracts with municipal customers, primarily to operate and manage water and wastewater facilities, as well as offers other related services. It operates approximately 80 surface water treatment plants; 520 groundwater treatment plants; 140 wastewater treatment plants; 52,500 miles of transmission, distribution, and collection mains and pipes; 1,000 groundwater wells; 1,500 water and wastewater pumping stations; 1,300 treated water storage facilities; and 76 dams. The company serves approximately 15 million people with drinking water, wastewater, and other water-related services in 46 states. The company was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of American Water Works Company is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 0.245% of American Water Works Company shares are held by insiders and 87.225% by institutions.

• How many people work for American Water Works Company?

  Latest data suggests 6,800 work at American Water Works Company.

• When does the fiscal year end for American Water Works Company?

  American Water Works Company's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is American Water Works Company based?

  American Water Works Company's address is: 1 Water Street, Camden, NJ, United States, 08102-1658

• What is American Water Works Company's ISIN number?

  American Water Works Company's international securities identification number is: US0304201033

• What is American Water Works Company's CUSIP number?

  American Water Works Company's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 030420103