American Water Works AWK is scheduled to release first-quarter 2025 results on April 30, after market close. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 7.96% in the last reported quarter. (See the Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.)

Let’s discuss the factors that are likely to be reflected in the upcoming quarterly results.

Major Factors That Might Have Impacted AWK's Q1 Performance

American Water Works’ first-quarter earnings are expected to have benefited from infrastructure improvements due to capital investment and efficient cost management strategies.

In 2024, the company completed 13 acquisitions, adding 69,500 new customers. This increase in customer base is expected to have created fresh demand and boosted the quarterly top-line numbers.

American Water Works generates nearly 100% of its net income from regulated operations. The new rates effective during the first quarter and the previous quarters are expected to have contributed positively to the quarterly performance.

Q1 Expectations for AWK

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.04 per share, implying a year-over-year increase of 9.5%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pinned at $1.03 billion, indicating an increase of 1.8% from the year-ago reported number.

What Our Quantitative Model Predicts

Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for American Water Works this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That is not the case here, as you will see below.
 

Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Currently, American Water Works carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Stocks to Consider

Investors may consider the following players from the same sector as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this reporting cycle.

Middlesex Water Company MSEX is likely to come up with an earnings beat when it reports first-quarter results on May 1. It has an Earnings ESP of +9.09% and a Zacks Rank #1 at present.

MSEX’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 6.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter sales is pinned at $42 million, which implies a year-over-year increase of 3.7%.

Evergy EVRG is likely to come up with an earnings beat when it reports first-quarter results on May 8. It has an Earnings ESP of +5.7% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present.

EVRG’s long-term earnings growth rate is 5.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pinned at 64 cents per share, which implies a year-over-year increase of 18.5%.

Essential Utilities WTRG is likely to come up with an earnings beat when it reports first-quarter results on May 12. It has an Earnings ESP of +2.08% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present.

WTRG’s long-term earnings growth rate is 5.18%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pinned at 80 cents per share, which implies a year-over-year increase of 9.6%.

 

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American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Middlesex Water Company (MSEX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Evergy Inc. (EVRG) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Essential Utilities Inc. (WTRG) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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