American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $151.96, but opened at $155.00. American Water Works shares last traded at $152.54, with a volume of 173,523 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.86.

American Water Works Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $135.56 and a 200 day moving average of $134.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. Equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 120.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,258 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,695,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $335,592,000 after buying an additional 747,316 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4,227.0% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 711,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 695,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,120,000. Hedge funds and other 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.