American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Issues Earnings Results

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.04), reports. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.84% and a net margin of 21.77%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $138.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.58. American Water Works has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $150.68.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AWK. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 4.2% in the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.6% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its stake in American Water Works by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 4,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $593,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

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.