Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Cuts Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. trimmed its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 252,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 110,000 shares during the quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $31,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1,131.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,438,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $210,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321,320 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 4,227.0% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 711,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 695,474 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 268.0% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 537,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,868,000 after buying an additional 391,166 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the third quarter valued at about $43,872,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 129.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 502,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,470,000 after buying an additional 283,579 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $139.48 on Tuesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $150.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $126.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.57.

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.