Bank of Nova Scotia Has $3 Million Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. by 24.7% during Q1, selling 6,683 shares and retaining a total of 20,342 shares valued at approximately $3 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of American Water Works stock, highlighting significant interest from large investment firms.
• American Water Works declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8275, representing an annualized rate of $3.31 and a yield of 2.3%, with an ex-dividend date of August 12th.

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 24.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,342 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,683 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in American Water Works were worth $3,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 78.3% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Barclays reduced their price target on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price target (up from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $142.00.

Insider Activity

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.6%

AWK stock traded up $0.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $145.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,986,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,576,475. The business has a 50-day moving average of $141.41 and a 200-day moving average of $139.74. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $155.50. The stock has a market cap of $28.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced 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). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.64%.

American Water Works Company 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.