Osterweis Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 203,066 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $25,280,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. owned 0.10% of American Water Works at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,107,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,125,598,000 after purchasing an additional 217,582 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,671,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $579,981,000 after buying an additional 106,857 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position in American Water Works by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $553,687,000 after buying an additional 477,411 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in American Water Works by 120.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,180,000 after buying an additional 1,736,258 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $391,205,000 after acquiring an additional 414,568 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:AWK opened at $146.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $28.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $139.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.34. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.53 and a 52 week high of $155.50.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of 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 raised their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.86.

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.