American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Bought by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,072 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $10,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in American Water Works by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 271,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,786,000 after purchasing an additional 43,406 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $222,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $140.48 on Tuesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The company has a market cap of $27.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $143.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.50.

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

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.