American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Receives Consensus Rating of "Reduce" from Analysts

Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Reduce" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $142.29.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AWK shares. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of American Water Works to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of American Water Works from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 155.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 31.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 446.2% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 426 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of AWK stock traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $125.29. The company had a trading volume of 703,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,205,739. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $133.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.66. The company has a market capitalization of $24.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. American Water Works has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued 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 2.44%. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 60.59%.

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.