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

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $141.67.

AWK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (up previously from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $140.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $141.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $27.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced 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). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. American Water Works’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 86.58% of the stock is 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.