Ally Financial Inc. Purchases New Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Ally Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $996,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,107,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,125,598,000 after acquiring an additional 217,582 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,671,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $579,981,000 after purchasing an additional 106,857 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $553,687,000 after purchasing an additional 477,411 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 120.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $391,205,000 after purchasing an additional 414,568 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $146.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $28.56 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.53 and a 1 year high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $139.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.34.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. The business 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AWK shares. StockNews.com upgraded American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.86.

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.