Oak Thistle LLC Makes New Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,503,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,682,280,000 after buying an additional 214,082 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,564,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $665,163,000 after acquiring an additional 43,754 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in American Water Works by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $300,739,000 after acquiring an additional 125,128 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,245,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $328,354,000 after acquiring an additional 143,914 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1,131.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,438,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $210,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321,320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $126.69 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $129.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.97. The stock has a market cap of $24.69 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $150.68.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 60.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on AWK shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $129.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Mizuho lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.00.

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.