American Water Works Stock: Is AWK Underperforming the Utilities Sector?

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 $24.3 billion by market cap, the company operates an extensive infrastructure of wastewater treatment plants, pipelines, wells, dams, storage facilities, and more.

Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap stocks,” and AWK perfectly fits that description, with its market cap exceeding this mark, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the utilities - regulated water industry. AWK shows financial strength, growth through acquisitions and organic adds which includes 4,000 new customers and deals for 29,000 more, driving market expansion. 

Despite its notable strength, AWK slipped 15.8% from its 52-week high of $147.87, achieved on Aug. 20, 2025. Over the past three months, AWK stock declined 7.4%, underperforming the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF’s (XLU) 4.6% losses during the same time frame.

Shares of AWK fell 4.6% this year and dipped 11.5% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming XLU’s YTD gains of 3.2% and 8.9% returns over the same time frame.

To confirm the bearish trend, AWK has been trading below its 50-day moving average since mid-April, with slight fluctuations. The stock is trading below its 200-day moving average since late October, 2025, experiencing some fluctuations. 

On Apr. 29, AWK shares closed down marginally after reporting its Q1 results. Its adjusted EPS came in at $1.01, down 1% year over year. The company’s revenue stood at $1.2 billion, up 5.7% from the year-ago quarter. AWK expects full-year adjusted EPS in the range of $6.02 to $6.12.

In the competitive arena of utilities - regulated water, Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (CWCO) has taken the lead over AWK, with a 6.6% uptick over the past 52 weeks, but lagged behind the stock with 14.8% losses on a YTD basis.

Wall Street analysts are cautious on AWK’s prospects. The stock has a consensus “Hold” rating from the 13 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $136.64 suggests a potential upside of 9.8% from current price levels.