Analysts Set American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Price Target at $140.89

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $140.8889.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays reduced their price target on American Water Works from $134.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $114.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Bank of America upgraded American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $117.00 to $139.00 in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group set a $149.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Wednesday, December 17th.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:AWK opened at $125.71 on Friday. American Water Works has a one year low of $121.39 and a one year high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.72.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.17%.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in American Water Works in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc (NYSE: AWK) is a publicly traded utility company that provides water and wastewater services in the United States. Its core business is the operation, management and maintenance of regulated water and wastewater systems that deliver potable water, collect and treat wastewater, and provide related customer services to residential, commercial and industrial customers as well as municipalities. The company’s operations include water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, meter reading and billing, emergency repairs, and long-term infrastructure planning and capital project execution.

In addition to its regulated utility operations, American Water offers complementary nonregulated services and solutions that support system reliability and customer needs.