American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

AWK has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.57.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $143.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. American Water Works has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $152.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $128.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.42.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. As a group, analysts expect that American Water Works will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.