American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK), headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, provides water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. Valued at $24.4 billion by market cap, the company operates an extensive infrastructure of wastewater treatment plants, pipelines, wells, dams, storage facilities, and more.
Shares of this water utility giant have underperformed the broader market over the past year. AWK has gained 5.9% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied nearly 23.5%. In 2025, AWK stock is up 1.9%, compared to SPX’s 4% rise on a YTD basis.
Narrowing the focus, AWK’s underperformance is also apparent compared to Global X Clean Water ETF (AQWA). The exchange-traded fund has gained about 7.3% over the past year. Moreover, the ETF’s 3.7% gains on a YTD basis outshine the stock’s returns over the same time frame.
On Oct. 30, AWK reported its Q3 results, and its shares closed up more than 1% in the following trading session. Its EPS of $1.80 missed Wall Street expectations of $1.84. The company’s revenue was $1.3 billion, beating Wall Street forecasts of $1.2 billion. AWK expects full-year EPS to be between $5.25 and $5.30.
For the current fiscal year, ended in December 2024, analysts expected AWK’s EPS to grow 8% to $5.29 on a diluted basis. The company’s earnings surprise history is disappointing. It missed the consensus estimates in three of the last four quarters while beating the forecast on another occasion.
Among the 15 analysts covering AWK stock, the consensus is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on four “Strong Buy” ratings, one “Moderate Buy,” eight “Holds,” and two “Moderate Sells.”
This configuration is less bearish than two months ago, with its overall rating of “Hold,” consisting of one analyst suggesting a “Strong Sell.”
On Jan. 28, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) analyst Julien Dumoulin Smith maintained a “Sell” rating on AWK with a price target of $105.
The mean price target of $139.25 represents a 9.8% premium to AWK’s current price levels. The Street-high price target of $164 suggests an upside potential of 29.3%.
