Canton Hathaway LLC Raises Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Canton Hathaway LLC raised its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 500.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Canton Hathaway LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Covea Finance boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 32.8% during the first quarter. Covea Finance now owns 161,467 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,820,000 after buying an additional 39,900 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter worth about $274,000. Brady Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter worth about $220,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 10.8% during the first quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 2,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter worth about $440,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

American Water Works stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $141.14. The company had a trading volume of 2,415,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,221,918. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $27.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.71. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $143.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.01.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. 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 (DPR) is 60.29%.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI increased 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.