Certior Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 2,009 American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new position 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 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. FMR LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 11.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 353,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,716,000 after buying an additional 36,424 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,244,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 43,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,383,000 after acquiring an additional 2,703 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in American Water Works by 76.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter worth about $275,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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, StockNews.com raised shares of American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.86.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $147.36 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.28.

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

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.