American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to “Underweight”

Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $138.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $127.00.

AWK has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com cut American Water Works from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $141.17.

American Water Works Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE AWK opened at $147.41 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. American Water Works has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $148.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $133.40 and a 200-day moving average of $126.52. The firm has a market cap of $28.72 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.67.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly 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 9.66% and a net margin of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. American Water Works’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 62.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 91.4% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 9,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 4,593 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 302.4% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 1,539 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $649,000. Finally, Quilter Plc boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 182,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,110,000 after acquiring an additional 17,105 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.