American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 11.23% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.25.

American Water Works Price Performance

American Water Works stock traded down $2.89 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $139.68. 111,046 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,219,067. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $144.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.71.

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

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the second quarter worth $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 71.9% in 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 during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in American Water Works by 100.0% in 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 during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.