Analysts Set American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) PT at $140.00

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $140.00.

AWK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $141.96 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $143.26 and a 200-day moving average of $135.10. American Water Works has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $27.66 billion, a PE ratio of 28.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Water Works will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 62.07%.

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.