Gouws Capital LLC Invests $283,000 in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Key Points

• Gouws Capital LLC has made a new investment in American Water Works Company, acquiring 1,916 shares valued at approximately $283,000.
• American Water Works announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8275 per share, reflecting a 2.3% dividend yield.
• Analysts set a consensus price target of $142.00 for American Water Works, with ratings varying from sell to hold among different firms.

Gouws Capital LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AWK. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in American Water Works by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 52,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 5.6% in the first quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 40,432 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares during the period. SouthState Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 4.6% during the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 3,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter worth about $242,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter worth about $103,053,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK traded down $0.33 during trading on Thursday, hitting $143.40. 1,085,280 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,440,261. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $27.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $141.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.20.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

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 $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is 59.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AWK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Argus increased their price target on American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.30.

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.