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American Water (AWK) to Post Q1 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

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American Water Works Company (AWK - Free Report) is set to release first-quarter 2023 results on Apr 26, after market close. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered an earnings surprise of 6.6%.

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

Factors to Consider

American Water Works’ first-quarter earnings are expected to have benefited from efficient cost management and new water rates, effective in different territories. It got approval for the implementation of new rates worth $243 million, effective Jan 1, 2023, which is likely to have had a positive impact on its first-quarter earnings.

Systematic acquisitions and organic assets, along with expanding customer volumes, are likely to have created demand for water and wastewater services, which might’ve further boosted earnings in the first quarter.

However, the ongoing increase in interest rates is a concern, as the company is planning to invest multi-billion dollars to strengthen and expand infrastructure.

Expectations

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings is pegged at 95 cents per share, indicating a year-over-year increase of 9.2% from the year-ago reported figure.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter revenues is pegged at $878.1 million, indicating year-over-year growth of 4.29% from the year-ago reported figure.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model does not conclusively 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. This 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: American Water Works currently has a Zacks Rank #3.

Stocks to Consider

Here are a few companies worth considering from the same sector that have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in the upcoming releases.

Xcel Energy (XEL - Free Report) is set to release first-quarter 2023 results on Apr 27. XEL has an Earnings ESP of +1.50% and a Zacks Rank #3.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 earnings of XEL is $3.37 per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 6.31%.

Portland General Electric Company (POR - Free Report) is set to release first-quarter 2023 results on Apr 28. POR has an Earnings ESP of +5.33%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 earnings of Portland General Electric is $2.64 per share, moving up by 0.4% in the past 60 days.

POR currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Alliant Energy Corporation (LNT - Free Report) is set to release first-quarter 2023 results on May 4. LNT has an Earnings ESP of +2.04% and a Zacks Rank #3.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 earnings of Alliant Energy is $2.90 per share, which indicates a year-over-year decline of 3.6%.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

 

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