PFG Advisors Cuts Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

PFG Advisors reduced its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 7.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 674 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AWK. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.6% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 4,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 21,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,581,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Presima Securities ULC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 5,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

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 value of $101,423.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company cut American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.17.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $148.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $149.00. The company has a market capitalization of $28.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $141.76 and its 200 day moving average is $130.65.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.07%.

American Water Works 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.