American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $143.22.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AWK shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group lowered shares of American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.8%

American Water Works stock opened at $142.68 on Tuesday. American Water Works has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $155.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $144.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AWK. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 376,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,560 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 103,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,891,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in American Water Works by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 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.