Principal Securities Inc. Acquires 370 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $756,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 31.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AWK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.57.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $128.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.87. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $150.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 9.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. As a group, analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders 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 2.38%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

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.