How to buy American Water Works stock

American Water Works is an utilities-regulated water business based in the US. American Water Works shares (AWK) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. American Water Works employs 6,400 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around $3.8 billion.

American Water Works stock price (NYSE: AWK)

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

American Water Works shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2023-02-01.

Latest market close	$158.62
52-week range	$122.19 - $171.57
50-day moving average more info button	$153.75
200-day moving average more info button	$148.95
Wall St. target price	$160.44
PE ratio more info button	21.5848
Dividend yield more info button	$2.515 (1.69%)
Earnings per share (TTM) more info button	$7.25

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Is it a good time to buy American Water Works 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.

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 price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $158.62 from 2023-02-01

1 week (2023-01-26)	1.55%
1 month (2022-12-29)	N/A
3 months (2022-10-29)	N/A
6 months (2022-08-02)	2.02%

1 year (2022-02-02)	-1.37%
2 years (2021-02-02)	-2.88%
3 years (2020-01-31)	16.46%
5 years (2018-02-02)	95.30%

Is American Water Works stock undervalued or overvalued?

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

American Water Works's P/E ratio

American Water Works's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 22x. In other words, American Water Works shares trade at around 22x recent earnings.

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

American Water Works's PEG ratio

American Water Works's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 4.4069. 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'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's EBITDA

American Water Works's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is $2 billion.

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

American Water Works financials

Revenue TTM	$3.8 billion
Operating margin TTM	34.34%
Gross profit TTM	$2.2 billion
Return on assets TTM	3.12%
Return on equity TTM	18.02%
Profit margin	34.58%
Book value	$42.67
Market capitalisation more info button	$28.5 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

American Water Works'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.

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'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's overall score of 32.02 (as at 12/31/2018) 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 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's environmental score

Environmental score: 14.85/100

American Water Works'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 is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

American Water Works's social score

Social score: 13.51/100

American Water Works'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 is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

American Water Works's governance score

Governance score: 6.66/100

American Water Works's governance score puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that American Water Works 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'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 scored a 2 out of 5 for controversy – the second-highest score possible, reflecting that American Water Works has, for the most part, managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

American Water Works 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 share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 70.81% of net profits

Recently American Water Works has paid out, on average, around 70.81% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 1.69% 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 shareholders could enjoy a 1.69% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In American Water Works's case, that would currently equate to about $2.515 per share.

American Water Works'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's most recent dividend payout was on 28 February 2023. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 5 February 2023 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have American Water Works's shares ever split?

American Water Works's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 25 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 shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for American Water Works shares which in turn could have impacted American Water Works's share price.

American Water Works share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, American Water Works's shares have ranged in value from as little as $122.1917 up to $171.5652. 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's is 0.5521. This would suggest that American Water Works's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).

American Water Works 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 14 states serving approximately 3. 4 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. It also provides water and wastewater services on various military installations; and undertakes contracts with municipal customers, primarily to operate and manage water and wastewater facilities, as well as offers other related services. In addition, the company operates approximately 80 surface water treatment plants; 480 groundwater treatment plants; 160 wastewater treatment plants; 52,500 miles of transmission, distribution, and collection mains and pipes; 1,100 groundwater wells; 1,700 water and wastewater pumping stations; 1,300 treated water storage facilities; and 76 dams.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of American Water Works is owned by insiders or institutions?
Currently 0.204% of American Water Works shares are held by insiders and 89.085% by institutions. How many people work for American Water Works?
Latest data suggests 6,400 work at American Water Works. When does the fiscal year end for American Water Works?
American Water Works's fiscal year ends in December. Where is American Water Works based?
American Water Works's address is: 1 Water Street, Camden, NJ, United States, 08102-1658 What is American Water Works's ISIN number?
American Water Works's international securities identification number is: US0304201033 What is American Water Works's CUSIP number?
American Water Works's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 030420103