American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Trading 2.1% Higher – What’s Next?

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) shot up 2.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $145.90 and last traded at $146.08. 144,076 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,139,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.86.

American Water Works Stock Up 2.3 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. Research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in American Water Works by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 126,974 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 6.1% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 18,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,678,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 11.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 353,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,716,000 after acquiring an additional 36,424 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co purchased a new position in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in American Water Works by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 34,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

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.