Nuance Investments LLC Trims Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Key Points

• Nuance Investments LLC reduced its stake in American Water Works by 14.6%, lowering its holdings to 143,054 shares, which represent 1.4% of the firm's total investments.
• American Water Works reported earnings per share of $1.48 for the last quarter, falling short of analyst estimates, although revenue increased by 11.1% year-over-year to $1.28 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8275, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.3%, set to be paid on September 3rd to shareholders of record on August 12th.

Nuance Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 143,054 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,381 shares during the period. American Water Works makes up 1.4% of Nuance Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Nuance Investments LLC owned approximately 0.07% of American Water Works worth $21,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 1.5% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 2.6% in the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in American Water Works by 4.8% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,607 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 5.0% in the first quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 1.4% in the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,157 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK opened at $145.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.65. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.74 and a twelve month high of $155.50. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $141.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

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

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 59.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AWK shares. 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 report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI lifted 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted 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 report on Friday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.00.

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 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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