American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Stock Position Raised by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 28.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,111 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 110.8% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 79.2% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 71.9% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $130.54 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $127.68 and a 200-day moving average of $125.65. The firm has a market cap 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. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $151.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AWK shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.33.

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.