Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Decreases Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 30.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 252,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 110,000 shares during the quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of American Water Works worth $31,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.57.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $139.48 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $126.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.36. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The company has a market capitalization of $27.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. On average, research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given 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 yield of 2.19%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.77%.

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.