American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $142.29.

AWK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho cut shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wolfe Research raised shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $123.77 on Friday. American Water Works has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The company has a market capitalization of $24.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.59%.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 1.2% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American Water Works

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.