American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Receives $141.67 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the ten analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $141.67.

AWK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 target price (up from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted 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 research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in American Water Works by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,936 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Water Works by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Water Works by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co increased its holdings in American Water Works by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 4,986 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $287,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:AWK traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $141.64. The company had a trading volume of 594,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,939. The company has a market capitalization of $27.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $141.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.55. American Water Works has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 22.24%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Water Works will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.