Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Cuts Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC decreased its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 316 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Diversified LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Diversified LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in American Water Works by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in American Water Works by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 21,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of American Water Works stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $127.96. The stock had a trading volume of 402,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 909,982. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.47. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.34 and a 12-month high of $151.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $24.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.67.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.30 million. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 22.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.33.

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.