Erste Asset Management GmbH Cuts Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Erste Asset Management GmbH decreased its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 65,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,439 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $8,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $142.56 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $128.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.52. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $152.07. The firm has a market cap of $27.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AWK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.86.

American Water Works Profile

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.