Forsta AP Fonden Has $5 Million Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $5,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in American Water Works by 100.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 260.2% in the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wolfe Research raised shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $138.79 on Tuesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.34 and a 12-month high of $150.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $143.06 and its 200 day moving average is $135.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $27.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69.

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

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.07%.

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.