American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Upgraded by UBS Group to Buy Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $155.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $151.00.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on AWK. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.29.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $137.31 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $140.05 and its 200-day moving average is $137.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.76 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.70. American Water Works has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $150.68.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,268,308. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AWK. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 155.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

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.