American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the four analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $135.60.

Several analysts have recently commented on AWK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.0 %

AWK traded down $1.49 during trading on Thursday, reaching $147.45. 77,178 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,212,378. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.73 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $150.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $142.86 and its 200 day moving average is $131.38.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that American Water Works will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter worth $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 100.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

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.