Aigen Investment Management LP Invests $2.04 Million in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 16,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,035,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,136,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its position in American Water Works by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 4,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in American Water Works by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 65,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 26,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,311,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 133.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AWK. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.57.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $139.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. 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 50-day simple moving average of $126.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.35. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. Equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.