American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Acquired by Albion Financial Group UT

Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversified LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Diversified LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Presima Securities ULC grew its position in American Water Works by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 5,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWK has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com downgraded American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.33.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $127.96. 402,683 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,367,180. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $129.39 and a 200 day moving average of $125.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $151.22. The company has a market cap of $24.93 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.67.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 22.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th were paid a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.07%.

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.