American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,280,000 shares, an increase of 30.7% from the November 15th total of 4,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE AWK traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $129.59. 747,829 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,204,335. American Water Works has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $136.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.88.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is 60.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in American Water Works by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,503,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,682,280,000 after purchasing an additional 214,082 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in American Water Works by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 6,902,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $890,422,000 after purchasing an additional 247,745 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,564,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $665,163,000 after purchasing an additional 43,754 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,245,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $328,354,000 after acquiring an additional 143,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirova US LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,588,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,120,000 after acquiring an additional 32,764 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AWK. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho cut American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.29.

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.