American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Bought by Choreo LLC

Choreo LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 251.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,362 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 71.9% during the 4th 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 American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $148.14 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $149.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.65. The firm has a market cap of $28.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 62.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,268,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.