Howland Capital Management LLC Raises Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Howland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 20.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 163,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 27,200 shares during the quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $19,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Diversified LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Diversified LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in American Water Works by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in American Water Works by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 21,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of AWK traded up $3.99 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $136.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,243,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,347,358. The firm has a market cap of $26.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $130.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $151.22.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.30 million. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 22.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were issued a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 62.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AWK shares. StockNews.com downgraded American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.80.

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.