American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK – Get Rating) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $174.00.
A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC upgraded American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 23rd. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $161.00 in a report on Monday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on American Water Works from $187.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 9th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on American Water Works in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Water Works from $148.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 19th.
AWK opened at $151.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. American Water Works has a 12 month low of $142.36 and a 12 month high of $189.65. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.68. The stock has a market cap of $27.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.44.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.655 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 9th. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.95%.
In other news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 1,029 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.52, for a total value of $149,740.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,054 shares in the company, valued at $1,754,098.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 21.9% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 13,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,363,000 after acquiring an additional 2,507 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,389,000 after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 0.7% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 147,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,894,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,347,000 after buying an additional 3,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 42.5% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 25,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,373,000 after buying an additional 7,721 shares during the last quarter. 82.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About American Water Works (Get Rating)
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 3.4 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.
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