ABLE Financial Group LLC Acquires 1,895 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

ABLE Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 27.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,902 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock traded up $0.56 on Thursday, hitting $141.43. 1,097,039 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,218,700. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $27.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.40. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. 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 given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on AWK shares. UBS Group lowered American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted 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 research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.