Albion Financial Group UT Decreases Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Albion Financial Group UT cut its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 76 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 91.3% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 101,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,883,000 after buying an additional 48,570 shares during the last quarter. Patten Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Water Works by 4.7% during the third quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 8,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 29.3% in the third quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 6,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 7.5% in the third quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boyce & Associates Wealth Consulting Inc. purchased a new position in American Water Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $223,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Price Performance

American Water Works stock opened at $136.20 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.01. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 21.93%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Equities analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.32%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Monday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

American Water Works 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.