Sone Capital Management LLC Invests $8.88 Million in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Sone Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 71,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,875,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Providence First Trust Co bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. UBS Group cut American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays assumed coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.22.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $142.54 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $27.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $155.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

American Water Works Company 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.