American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Short Interest Up 16.6% in June

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,080,000 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the May 31st total of 3,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $128.51 on Wednesday. American Water Works has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $151.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.30 million. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 22.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.07%.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in American Water Works in the third quarter valued at about $429,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 19.4% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 3rd quarter valued at $9,257,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in American Water Works by 108.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 26,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 14,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 4,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.33.

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.