Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases New Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 67,011 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,342,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $821,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,648,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 50,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,329,000 after acquiring an additional 7,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,457,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of American Water Works stock traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $141.43. 1,097,039 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,217,780. The firm has a market cap of $27.58 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $155.50. The stock's fifty day moving average is $144.29 and its 200 day moving average is $135.40.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. American Water Works's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AWK. Evercore ISI upped 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 cut shares of American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.22.

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.