Woodline Partners LP Buys New Shares in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,704 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,457,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AWK. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group cut American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.22.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of AWK traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $141.56. The company had a trading volume of 569,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,216,142. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50. The stock has a market cap of $27.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.40.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. American Water Works's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

American Water Works Company 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.