American Water Works Earnings Preview: What to Watch

American Water Works (NYSE: AWK) is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 results after the market closes on Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Shares of the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility have returned 43.5% over the one-year period through Jan. 17, compared with the S&P 500's 28.9% return over this period. With this type of performance, investors will be expecting continued smooth sailing on the quarterly results front.

Along with the utility sector in general, many water utility stocks have been performing well, driven in part by the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts last year and investors' concerns that a recession is coming. Indeed, along with its electric utility brethren NextEra Energy, American Water stock is one of the five best stocks to ride out a recession.

Source Fool.com