Avalon Trust Co Takes $18.66 Million Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 149,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,664,000. American Water Works comprises approximately 1.3% of Avalon Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HMV Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $340,000. PGGM Investments increased its holdings in American Water Works by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 89,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,198,000 after buying an additional 15,363 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 12,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,505,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in American Water Works by 140.9% in the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 91,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,353,000 after buying an additional 53,439 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 93,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,601,000 after buying an additional 30,363 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of 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 upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.86.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.3 %

American Water Works stock opened at $144.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 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 $152.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.50. The firm has a market cap of $28.16 billion, a PE ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its 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. 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. Analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

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.