MBB Public Markets I LLC Buys New Shares in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,610,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 100.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.29.

American Water Works Price Performance

AWK opened at $144.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.64. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $150.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $143.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.75.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released 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 firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,268,308. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.