American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Price Target Cut to $168.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) had its target price trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $180.00 to $168.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Water Works from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of American Water Works from $152.00 to $147.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $155.29.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $135.73 on Wednesday. American Water Works has a fifty-two week low of $122.77 and a fifty-two week high of $162.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $142.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.57.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 7th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AWK. Avion Wealth acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.99% of the company’s stock.

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.