Cornerstone Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Key Points

• Cornerstone Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. by 82.1%, holding 3,000 shares valued at $443,000 after selling 13,800 shares in the first quarter.
• The company reported earnings of $1.48 per share, missing estimates by ($0.05), despite an 11.1% year-over-year revenue increase to $1.28 billion.
• American Water Works announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8275 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.3% with a payout ratio of 59.64%.

Cornerstone Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 82.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,800 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its position in American Water Works by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,248,263 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,724,624,000 after acquiring an additional 141,038 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter valued at about $221,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 26.1% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 5.5% in the first quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 68,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,555 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

American Water Works stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $145.29. 1,986,715 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,576,475. The company's fifty day moving average is $141.41 and its 200-day moving average is $139.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $28.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.65. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.05). The company 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%. American Water Works's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a $0.8275 dividend. 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 2.3%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.64%.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 target price (up from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of 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. Finally, 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. 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. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $142.00.

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.