Linscomb Wealth Inc. Boosts Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Linscomb Wealth Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 38,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares during the quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 155.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.57.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $134.12 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $125.61 and a 200 day moving average of $134.52. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $150.68. The company has a market cap of $26.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. The business 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%. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 56.77%.

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.