American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Short Interest Update

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,040,000 shares, an increase of 9.8% from the October 31st total of 3,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AWK shares. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 21.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,023,000 after purchasing an additional 5,564 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in American Water Works by 350.4% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 10,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,338,000 after buying an additional 8,060 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 65.5% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 106,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,557,000 after acquiring an additional 42,094 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,610,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 48,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,110,000 after purchasing an additional 4,944 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK traded down $3.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $130.86. 1,015,047 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,207,817. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $138.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $25.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.70. American Water Works has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.59%.

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.