9,500 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Acquired by Lindsell Train Ltd

Key Points

• Lindsell Train Ltd. acquired 9,500 American Water Works shares in the third quarter, valued at about $1.23 million and representing roughly 0.1% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 86.58% of the stock.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $139.86; recent actions included UBS downgrading the stock to Neutral and Barclays lowering its target to $127.
• American Water Works fell short of quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, though revenue rose 4.1% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.895 per share, equivalent to a 2.3% yield.

Lindsell Train Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,230,000. American Water Works makes up about 0.1% of Lindsell Train Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Platform Technology Partners bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the third quarter worth $273,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 61,329 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,253,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 3rd quarter worth about $350,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 2,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AWK. Barclays cut their price target on American Water Works from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. UBS Group lowered shares of American Water Works from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial set a $139.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $149.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $139.86.

American Water Works Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $152.69 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $136.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.77. The firm has a market cap of $30.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.39. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.57 and a 52-week high of $153.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($0.04). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.26% and a return on equity of 10.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.8950 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.05%.

American Water Works Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc is a public water and wastewater utility that provides essential services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers. Through its regulated businesses, the company supplies drinking water, collects and treats wastewater, and manages related infrastructure, including treatment plants, pipelines, storage facilities and customer service systems.

Founded in 1886, American Water has grown into one of the largest water and wastewater service providers in the United States.

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