SFE Investment Counsel Boosts Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

SFE Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,418 shares during the period. American Water Works accounts for approximately 1.3% of SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $6,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 100.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 260.2% during the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho downgraded American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.00.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of AWK stock opened at $138.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $143.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.97. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.64.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 9.60%. American Water Works’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 62.07%.

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.