Alpha Family Trust Takes $259,000 Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Alpha Family Trust bought a new position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,080 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $300,739,000 after acquiring an additional 125,128 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $277,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 65,249 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 42,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $1,783,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of AWK opened at $147.04 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $155.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $143.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.82. 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 market capitalization of $28.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 56.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of American Water Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday. Barclays started coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. UBS Group cut American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.22.

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.

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