Genus Capital Management Inc. Makes New $2.16 Million Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Genus Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 14,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,160,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 124,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,570 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 45.2% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,692 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 40,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,235 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $142.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 948,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,238,511. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $141.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $155.50. The company has a market capitalization of $27.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 10.35% and a net margin of 22.24%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is 60.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the company'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 transaction of $404,766.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AWK shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays cut their price objective on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.