Swiss National Bank Cuts Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 550,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 27,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of American Water Works worth $68,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in American Water Works by 31.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AWK. StockNews.com raised American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.86.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $144.43 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $152.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.50. The company has a market capitalization of $28.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39.

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

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.