American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Receives $143.22 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Reduce" by the ten brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $143.22.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on 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 downgraded shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group cut shares of American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of AWK traded down $2.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $140.88. 920,048 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,218,263. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.36. American Water Works has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. On average, analysts predict that American Water Works will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.8275 dividend. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter worth $30,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Providence First Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

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.