American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 20,534.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 615,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 612,324 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.32% of American Water Works worth $90,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $139.84. 793,544 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,221,974. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $155.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.71. The company's 50 day moving average price is $144.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.71.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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. Wall Street Zen lowered American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays began coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.22.

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.