American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Receives $143.22 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $143.22.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AWK. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $140.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.71. American Water Works has a twelve month low of $118.74 and a twelve month high of $155.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $143.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in American Water Works by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in American Water Works by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in American Water Works by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 31,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in American Water Works by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 20,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in American Water Works by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 15,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

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.