American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" by Brokerages

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research 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 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $143.22.

AWK has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group downgraded American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays initiated coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $141.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $143.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.97. American Water Works has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.49.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a $0.8275 dividend. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. 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.

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