Barclays Initiates Coverage on American Water Works (NYSE:AWK)

Barclays assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an underweight rating and a $138.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.38.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $149.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $29.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. American Water Works has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $155.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $141.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 376,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,560 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter valued at approximately $716,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 54,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,996,000 after buying an additional 2,269 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,034,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $145,170,000 after acquiring an additional 29,961 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Company Profile

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.