Public Sector Pension Investment Board Boosts Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 49.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,994 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $190,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 43,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,581,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Water Works by 48.1% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 10,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after purchasing an additional 3,493 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 17.1% in the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 2,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in American Water Works by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 102,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,217,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,268,308. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.7 %

American Water Works stock opened at $143.18 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $150.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.90 billion, a PE ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.33.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 62.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AWK. Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.29.

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 1,700 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.