Evercore ISI Increases American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Price Target to $148.00

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) had its price objective upped by Evercore ISI from $139.00 to $148.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

AWK has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.22.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $147.04 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $143.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. American Water Works has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $155.50. The stock has a market cap of $28.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.8275 dividend. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AWK. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.