Covea Finance Acquires 109,200 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Covea Finance lifted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 39.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 383,167 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 109,200 shares during the quarter. American Water Works makes up approximately 2.5% of Covea Finance’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Covea Finance’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $56,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK traded up $2.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $138.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 689,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,427. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $27.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $143.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.16. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $150.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its 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 net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. American Water Works’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AWK. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.