American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Receives $142.29 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $142.29.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4.2% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $132.10 on Tuesday. American Water Works has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $137.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.81. The company has a market capitalization of $25.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 60.59%.

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.