American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $142.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group downgraded shares of American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK opened at $146.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $28.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. American Water Works has a 12-month low of $118.74 and a 12-month high of $155.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $143.49 and a 200-day moving average of $134.77.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Water Works will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 56.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $300,739,000 after purchasing an additional 125,128 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $277,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 65,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,123,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 42,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,783,000. 86.58% 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 1,700 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.