American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at StockNews.com

Investment analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works (NYSE:AWK – Get Rating) in a report issued on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on AWK. TheStreet downgraded shares of American Water Works from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $149.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.29.

American Water Works Stock Up 2.2 %

American Water Works stock opened at $140.63 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.88. American Water Works has a fifty-two week low of $122.77 and a fifty-two week high of $173.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.18, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $931.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $923.74 million. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.62% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Water Works will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 21,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,224,000 after buying an additional 5,433 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in American Water Works by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 93,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,243,000 after purchasing an additional 13,811 shares during the period. OLD Mission Capital LLC bought a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 71,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares during the period. 83.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Company Profile

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American Water Works Co, Inc engages in the provision of complementary water and wastewater services. It operates through the following segments: Regulated Businesses, Market-Based Businesses, and Other. The Regulated Businesses segment offers water and wastewater services to customers. The Market-Based Businesses segment includes the military services group, which enters into long-term contracts with the U.S.