Cypress Capital Group Sells 2,488 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Cypress Capital Group trimmed its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 60.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,488 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Providence First Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 155.6% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AWK opened at $138.13 on Friday. 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 Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.34 and a 12-month high of $150.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.40.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.57.

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.