Cetera Investment Advisers Increases Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in American Water Works Company by 37.8%, owning 62,772 shares valued at approximately $9.26 million after buying an additional 17,222 shares in the first quarter.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8275 per share, with a 2.4% dividend yield based on an annualized rate of $3.31.
• American Water Works reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.48, slightly missing the consensus estimate, but showing a revenue increase of 11.1% year-over-year, reaching $1.28 billion.

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 37.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,772 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 17,222 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in American Water Works were worth $9,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,699 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,021,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Water Works during the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. SFE Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 11.0% during the first quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 46,780 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,901,000 after acquiring an additional 4,627 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter worth approximately $441,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 114,086 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,830,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.4%

AWK opened at $140.24 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $118.74 and a one 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.27, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (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 10.40%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. American Water Works's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 59.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. 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 research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.67.

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.

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