Brokerages Set American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Target Price at $142.29

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $142.29.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho downgraded American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $124.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $150.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $133.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.70.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 60.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 155.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in American Water Works during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in American Water Works by 31.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 446.2% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.