American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on AWK. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of American Water Works from $140.00 to $139.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of American Water Works from $152.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.00.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $139.53 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.52. The company has a market cap of $27.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. American Water Works has a 1 year low of $122.77 and a 1 year high of $162.59.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.17. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.08% and a return on equity of 10.31%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. American Water Works’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in American Water Works by 98,401.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,079,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $582,408,000 after acquiring an additional 4,075,777 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 1st quarter worth approximately $308,215,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $281,724,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 64,405.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,838,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $280,208,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in American Water Works by 1,278.3% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,420,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,251,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,840 shares during the last quarter. 84.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 1,600 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.4 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.