Wealthquest Corp Takes $1.43 Million Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Key Points

• Wealthquest Corp has acquired a new position in American Water Works Company, purchasing approximately 9,693 shares valued at $1.43 million.
• Analyst ratings for American Water Works have been mixed, with Barclays downgrading its target price from $138.00 to $128.00 and four analysts issuing a sell rating.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8275 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.37%, to be paid on September 3rd.

Wealthquest Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,430,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in American Water Works by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 11,818 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,471,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 9.8% in the fourth 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. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,265 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 8,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price target (up previously from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Mizuho increased their price target on American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.00.

American Water Works Price Performance

AWK traded up $5.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $145.72. 2,693,140 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,105,963. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $155.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.12.

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

American Water Works Announces Dividend

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

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.