Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Stock

Key Points

• Mizuho has increased its price target for American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.36% from the last closing price.
• American Water Works reported quarterly earnings of $1.48 per share, missing estimates by $0.05, while the company's revenue rose 11.1% year-over-year.
• Overall, American Water Works has garnered mixed ratings, with a consensus of "Hold" and an average target price of $142.00 from analysts.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Mizuho from $148.00 to $149.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Mizuho's price objective points to a potential upside of 2.36% from the company's previous close.

AWK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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 dropped their price objective on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price objective (up from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, July 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.00.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock traded up $5.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $145.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,331,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,393,069. American Water Works has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $155.50. The company has a market cap of $28.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.23, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.49. The firm's 50-day moving average is $141.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.96.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 21.91%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that American Water Works will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in American Water Works by 3.9% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 29,614 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in American Water Works in the second quarter valued at about $3,516,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in American Water Works by 2.1% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 8,566.7% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 260 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 5.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 727,513 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $101,204,000 after acquiring an additional 34,435 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About American Water Works

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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