GQG Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 20,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,532,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co bought a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.0 %

AWK opened at $139.71 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $131.71 and its 200-day moving average is $134.41. The company has a market cap of $27.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $152.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. Equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AWK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.86.

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.