Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Makes New Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. acquired a new position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 31,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,014,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 73.1% in the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AWK. UBS Group downgraded American Water Works from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $153.00 to $162.00 in a report on Friday. Mizuho set a $149.00 target price on American Water Works in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised American Water Works from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.14.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $150.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.56. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.57 and a 52-week high of $153.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $133.05.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($0.04). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 21.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.8950 per share. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.05%.

American Water Works Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc. is a U.S. water and wastewater utility that provides services to residential, commercial, industrial, and public-sector customers. Its operations include treating and distributing drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and maintaining the infrastructure needed to deliver those services. The company operates regulated water and wastewater utilities across multiple states, serving communities in regions including the Northeast, Midwest, and South. Through contracted operations, it also provides water and wastewater services to certain military installations and municipal customers.