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Here's How Much You'd Have If You Invested $1000 in American Water Works a Decade Ago

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For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. This factor can impact your investment portfolio as well as help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

The fear of missing out, or FOMO, also plays a factor in investing, especially with particular tech giants, as well as popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in American Water Works (AWK - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to AWK for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

American Water Works' Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at American Water Works' main business drivers.

The water supply and wastewater service provider, American Water Works Company, was founded in 1886. It provides essential water services to over 14 million customers in 24 states and has an employee strength of 6,500. The company also acquires small water service providers to expand its customer base.

As of Feb 4, 2024, there were 194,755,320 shares of the company’s outstanding common stock held by nearly 2,101 recorded holders. Different institutions jointly own 89.48% of the outstanding shares of American Water Works Company and all insiders have control over 0.2% of the outstanding shares.

American Water Works’ contracts with the U.S. government for work on various military installations, which will expire between 2051 and 2073, have remaining performance obligations (RPOs) of $7.2 billion as of Mar 31, 2024, as measured by estimated remaining contract revenue. Contracts with municipalities and commercial customers, that will expire between 2026 and 2038, have RPOs of $666 million as of Mar 31, 2024, which indicates that the company has a very strong long-term revenue base.

American Water Works operates a large water and wastewater infrastructure to efficiently serve the expanding customer base in the United States. It operates 80 surface water treatment plants, 540 groundwater treatment plants, 175 wastewater treatment plants, 53,700 miles of transmission, distribution and collection mains and pipes, 1,200 groundwater wells, 1,700 water and wastewater pumping stations, 1,100 treated water storage facilities as well as 74 dams. The company has plans to invest $34-$38 billion of capital over the 2024-2033 period to strengthen and expand its water and wastewater infrastructures.

American Water Works primarily operates through the Regulated Businesses segment. This segment’s operating revenues were $3.9 billion, $3.5 billion and $3.38 billion, accounting for 92.6%, 92% and 86% of the company’s total operating revenues for 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

 

Bottom Line

While anyone can invest, building a lucrative investment portfolio takes research, patience, and a little bit of risk. If you had invested in American Water Works ten years ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.

A $1000 investment made in July 2014 would be worth $2,882.44, or a 188.24% gain, as of July 24, 2024, according to our calculations. Investors should note that this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.

In comparison, the S&P 500 gained 179.60% and the price of gold went up 78.99% over the same time frame.

Going forward, analysts are expecting more upside for AWK.

American Water Works is gaining from contributions coming from acquired assets and military contracts. Investments in infrastructure will assist it to efficiently serve its expanding customer base. Water and wastewater rate hikes are also boosting its performance. AWK continues to expand operations and custtomer base through organic and inorganic initiatives. The company has ample liquidity to meet its short-term debt obligations. Our model projects total revenues to increase year-over-year in 2024-2026 period.The stock has outperformed its industry in the past three months. Yet, the still-high interest rate will increase project expenses. Demand for water keeps changing with weather conditions and its operations are subject to stringent regulations. The timely approval of rate cases is a concern. Pipeline breaks and related contamination are risks.

Shares have gained 8.60% over the past four weeks and there have been 1 higher earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2024 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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