American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Acquired by PFG Investments LLC

PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in American Water Works by 100.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter worth $41,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 260.2% during the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AWK shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Mizuho lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.00.

American Water Works Stock Performance

American Water Works stock opened at $137.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $143.12 and its 200-day moving average is $135.70.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.07%.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.