Allstate Corp Makes New $738,000 Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $738,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 120.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,258 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 4,227.0% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 711,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 695,474 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $71,120,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in American Water Works by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $553,687,000 after purchasing an additional 477,411 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $147.51 on Tuesday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.31. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.34 and a 12-month high of $152.07. The company has a market cap of $28.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.86.

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.