Qsemble Capital Management LP Trims Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Qsemble Capital Management LP trimmed its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 110.8% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 79.2% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 100.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AWK shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.80.

American Water Works Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of American Water Works stock traded up $2.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $139.08. The company had a trading volume of 670,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,337,210. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $130.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.48. The company has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.67. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $151.22.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.30 million. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 9.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.07%.

American Water Works Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.