Linscomb Wealth Inc. Acquires 2,150 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Key Points

• Linscomb Wealth Inc. has increased its stake in American Water Works by 5.6%, now holding 40,432 shares valued at approximately $5.96 million.
• American Water Works reported Q2 earnings with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.48, slightly below the consensus estimate of $1.53.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8275, with an ex-dividend date set for August 12th, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.3%.

Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,432 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 2,150 shares during the quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc.'s holdings in American Water Works were worth $5,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in American Water Works by 24.1% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,532,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $668,566,000 after buying an additional 878,951 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in American Water Works by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,695,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $335,592,000 after buying an additional 747,316 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter worth approximately $103,053,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 20,534.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 615,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $90,770,000 after buying an additional 612,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter worth approximately $64,870,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was 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 directly owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $143.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,174,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,668,115. The stock has a market cap of $28.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.65. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $155.50. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $141.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 21.91%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AWK. Mizuho increased their price objective on American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.44.

American Water Works 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.