American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $152.14 and last traded at $150.75, with a volume of 264842 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $146.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on AWK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.86.

American Water Works Stock Up 3.9 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $29.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.16, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Providence First Trust Co bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About American Water Works

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.