UBS Group Upgrades American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) to “Buy”

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) was upgraded by equities researchers at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $155.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $151.00. UBS Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 13.41% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.29.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.8 %

AWK stock opened at $136.67 on Tuesday. American Water Works has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $150.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $26.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.70.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Huber Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 265.0% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 47,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,818,000 after purchasing an additional 34,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter worth approximately $171,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

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.