American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by NBC Securities Inc.

NBC Securities Inc. decreased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 93.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 23,938 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC grew its position in American Water Works by 27.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,390,000 after buying an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its position in American Water Works by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 4,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works during the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,489,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $974,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $363,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.33.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:AWK opened at $130.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $127.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $151.22.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.30 million. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 22.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th were issued a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.07%.

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.