Linscomb Wealth Inc. Grows Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Linscomb Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,933 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in American Water Works by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $300,739,000 after purchasing an additional 125,128 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $277,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in American Water Works by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 42,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in American Water Works by 65.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 106,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,557,000 after acquiring an additional 42,094 shares during the period. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,783,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.57.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.7 %

AWK opened at $134.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $125.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. Equities research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 56.77%.

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.