American Water Works
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), American Water Works met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.
Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew and GAAP earnings per share expanded.
Margins grew across the board.
Revenue details
American Water Works reported revenue of $831.8 million. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $825.9 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 8.5% higher than the prior-year quarter's $766.5 million.
Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.
EPS details
EPS came in at $0.87. The 13 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.82 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.87 for Q3 were 12% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.78 per share. (The prior-year quarter included $0.05 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)
Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.
Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 57.3%, 240 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 39.4%, 290 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 18.5%, 60 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.
Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $719.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.42.
Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.89 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.17.
Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 247 members out of 261 rating the stock outperform, and 14 members rating it underperform. Among 52 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 50 give American Water Works a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.
Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on American Water Works is outperform, with an average price target of $40.32.
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