AdvisorShares Investments LLC Raises Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,930 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,620 shares during the period. American Water Works comprises 1.4% of AdvisorShares Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. AdvisorShares Investments LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $7,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in American Water Works by 120.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $395,180,000 after buying an additional 1,736,258 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $71,120,000. Amundi increased its stake in American Water Works by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $553,687,000 after buying an additional 477,411 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $391,205,000 after buying an additional 414,568 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on AWK shares. UBS Group cut shares of American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.22.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.4 %

American Water Works stock traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $147.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,115,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,205,964. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $28.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $143.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.76. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.29%.

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.