Providence First Trust Co Makes New $27,000 Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Providence First Trust Co purchased a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 155.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in American Water Works by 31.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE AWK opened at $136.21 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $26.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.43. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. On average, analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 56.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.57.

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.