American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Holdings Lifted by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 120.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,736,258 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.63% of American Water Works worth $395,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Water Works by 155.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.0 %

American Water Works stock opened at $139.51 on Wednesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $126.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.35. The company has a market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. On average, analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 56.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AWK shares. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on 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 lifted their price target on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.57.

American Water Works 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.