QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires 682 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 155.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of AWK stock opened at $139.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $126.08 and a 200-day moving average of $134.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. The firm 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 research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 56.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.57.

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.