Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its position 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. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 note on Thursday. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.57.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $132.63 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $25.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $124.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.63.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.77%.

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.