American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Position Raised by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 753 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Providence First Trust Co bought a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 155.6% in the third 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. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.57.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $136.21 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $125.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.43. The firm has a market cap of $26.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $150.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 56.77%.

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.