American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Holdings Decreased by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 299,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,934 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.15% of American Water Works worth $37,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 155.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AWK shares. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.57.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $128.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.72. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $124.91 and its 200-day moving average is $134.87.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 21.77%. Equities research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 60.59%.

American Water Works Company 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.