Confluence Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 143,108 American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 143,108 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,489,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 110.8% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $130.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.64. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $151.22. The company has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a $0.765 dividend. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AWK. StockNews.com downgraded American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.33.

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.