Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Decreases Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky reduced its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 447 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 110.8% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 266.7% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AWK shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.33.

American Water Works Stock Performance

American Water Works stock opened at $130.25 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $127.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $151.22. The company has a market cap of $25.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.67.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. American Water Works’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th were issued a $0.765 dividend. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.07%.

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.