Not a good buy right now for an impatient buyer: the trend is still bearish (stacked bearish moving averages + MACD deterioration) and price is sitting on/just above near-term support, which can break.
Analyst stance is unfavorable at current levels (latest Barclays Underweight with $122 PT vs ~$126), limiting near-term upside.
Options positioning is mildly supportive (OI put/call < 1), but not strong enough to override the weak tape.
With earnings coming 2026-02-18 (after hours), the next meaningful catalyst is event-driven; without a proprietary buy signal, the better trade is to stay on the sidelines until momentum improves.
Flow read: Volume put/call 0.94 is close to neutral (puts nearly matching calls) → not a strong bullish chase.
Volatility: 30D IV ~23.15 vs HV ~24.45 (IV slightly under HV), implying options are not especially expensive vs realized moves.
IV percentile ~74.4 indicates IV is elevated versus its own recent history (market pricing higher uncertainty), consistent with a shaky tape and upcoming earnings seasonality.
Liquidity/activity: Today’s volume 735, near 30-day average (96.6%); open interest today 14,079 and elevated vs avg (118.7%).
Technical Summary
Sell
10
Buy
5
Positive Catalysts
Fundamentals trend supportive: 2025/Q3 showed solid YoY growth in revenue, net income, and EPS.
Defensive appeal: Broader investor interest in defensive/high-dividend names could provide relative support for regulated utilities.
Potential corporate-action headline: News mentions Essential Utilities set to merge with American Water (if confirmed/advances, could be a material catalyst).
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
Analyst headwind: Barclays Underweight and price target cut to $122 (below current), reinforcing limited near-term upside.
Overall: Healthy regulated-utility growth profile, but the stock’s current technical weakness suggests the market is not rewarding the fundamentals at the moment.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent change: 2025-12-17 Barclays lowered price target to $122 from $134 and maintained Underweight.
Wall Street cons: limited upside per latest PT vs current price; sector seen as “execution and defense” (less room for multiple expansion), and the stock’s technical setup is currently weak.
Influential/political trading check: No recent congress trading data available (last 90 days).
Wall Street analysts forecast AWK stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for AWK is 137.83 USD with a low forecast of 122 USD and a high forecast of 155 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
6 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast AWK stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for AWK is 137.83 USD with a low forecast of 122 USD and a high forecast of 155 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
0 Buy
5 Hold
1 Sell
Hold
Current: 125.680
Low
122
Averages
137.83
High
155
Current: 125.680
Low
122
Averages
137.83
High
155
Barclays
Nicholas Campanella
Underweight
downgrade
$134 -> $122
AI Analysis
2025-12-17
Reason
Barclays
Nicholas Campanella
Price Target
$134 -> $122
AI Analysis
2025-12-17
downgrade
Underweight
Reason
Barclays analyst Nicholas Campanella lowered the firm's price target on American Water to $122 from $134 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares as part of its 2026 outlook for the utilities sector. The firm maintains a Positive industry view on the group, viewing 2026 as a year of "execution and defense" after the sector ramped spending commitments and guided to subsequent positive earnings revisions.
Jefferies
Underperform
to
Hold
upgrade
$114 -> $124
2025-11-05
Reason
Jefferies
Price Target
$114 -> $124
2025-11-05
upgrade
Underperform
to
Hold
Reason
Jefferies upgraded American Water to Hold from Underperform with a price target of $124, up from $114. The firm says the stock's valuation now better reflects the company's fundamentals after the 10% post-merger pullback.
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