American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,280,000 shares, an increase of 30.7% from the November 15th total of 4,040,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $129.59. 747,829 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,204,335. The stock has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $136.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.88.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,988,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in American Water Works by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,034,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $145,170,000 after buying an additional 29,961 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $221,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in American Water Works by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 54,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,996,000 after buying an additional 2,269 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $716,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on AWK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued 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 note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.29.

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.