LRI Investments LLC Takes Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $171,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 110.8% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in American Water Works by 100.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWK has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.80.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of AWK stock traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $141.71. 645,036 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 796,334. The business has a 50 day moving average of $132.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.07. 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 Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $151.22. The company has a market capitalization of $27.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.67.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.07%.

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.