Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 571,290 American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 571,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $71,120,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of American Water Works at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in American Water Works by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $300,739,000 after buying an additional 125,128 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $277,000. Czech National Bank grew 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 valued at $5,261,000 after buying an additional 2,562 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 65.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 106,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,557,000 after purchasing an additional 42,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $1,783,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $145.61 on Monday. 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 Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The company has a market cap of $28.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.33.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AWK shares. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.57.

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.