Versor Investments LP Buys 1,303 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Versor Investments LP lifted its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,303 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 155.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in American Water Works by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $134.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $125.61 and a 200-day moving average of $134.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $150.68.

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

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.57.

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.