Northcape Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its stake in American Water Works by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 3,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its holdings in American Water Works by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter worth about $202,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 78.8% in the second quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK stock traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $140.42. 521,426 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,252,906. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.79. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $149.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $137.33 and its 200 day moving average is $128.32. The company has a market capitalization of $27.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.67.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 62.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.17.

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.