Versant Capital Management Inc Sells 383 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Versant Capital Management Inc reduced its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 64.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 383 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $27,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AWK. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Water Works by 110.8% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 79.2% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in American Water Works by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 71.9% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.17.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK traded up $2.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $145.94. 100,438 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,289,651. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.67. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $149.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $134.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.72.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 21.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.07%.

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.