Voleon Capital Management LP Invests $514,000 in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,125 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $514,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AWK. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 32,125 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,999,000 after acquiring an additional 9,123 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 265.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 52,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,587,000 after buying an additional 38,420 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 56,930 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,087,000 after buying an additional 11,620 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 625,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $77,875,000 after buying an additional 125,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. 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 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American Water Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.22.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK traded up $1.10 during trading on Monday, reaching $148.21. The stock had a trading volume of 841,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,204,508. 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 has a market cap of $28.90 billion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $143.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.72.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.8275 dividend. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

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.