American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.06 EPS

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.06), FiscalAI reports. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 21.93%.The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion.

American Water Works Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE:AWK traded down $2.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $131.14. 2,356,726 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,751,821. American Water Works has a twelve month low of $121.28 and a twelve month high of $155.50. The firm has a market cap of $25.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $129.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.73.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 58.17%.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in American Water Works by 3,274.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,092,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $925,605,000 after purchasing an additional 6,882,575 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 64.2% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 6,493,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $847,361,000 after buying an additional 2,539,683 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 383.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,596,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $361,355,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058,656 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,037,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,570,936,000 after acquiring an additional 486,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 81.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,043,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $145,217,000 after acquiring an additional 469,641 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $117.00 to $139.00 in a report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of American Water Works from $134.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group set a $149.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on American Water Works from $142.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.89.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc (NYSE: AWK) is a publicly traded utility company that provides water and wastewater services in the United States. Its core business is the operation, management and maintenance of regulated water and wastewater systems that deliver potable water, collect and treat wastewater, and provide related customer services to residential, commercial and industrial customers as well as municipalities. The company’s operations include water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, meter reading and billing, emergency repairs, and long-term infrastructure planning and capital project execution.

In addition to its regulated utility operations, American Water offers complementary nonregulated services and solutions that support system reliability and customer needs.