Signaturefd LLC Raises Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 90 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in American Water Works by 12,816.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,464,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $189,177,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,334 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter valued at approximately $108,688,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,648,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,012,272,000 after buying an additional 624,977 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 70.3% in the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 958,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $117,115,000 after buying an additional 395,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 201.9% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 435,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,264,000 after buying an additional 291,315 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Down 1.6 %

AWK stock opened at $139.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $150.68. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $143.23 and a 200 day moving average of $135.45.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders 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 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.07%.

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.