Captrust Financial Advisors Grows Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in American Water Works were worth $911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AWK. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in American Water Works by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 8,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust co raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 4,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Up 4.9%

AWK opened at $140.33 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $155.50. The company has a market cap of $27.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s fifty day moving average is $144.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. American Water Works’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com lowered American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.22.

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.