Brokerages Set American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Target Price at $142.29

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

AWK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Mizuho cut American Water Works from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $134.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,455,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,208,727. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. American Water Works has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $150.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $138.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.90.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AWK. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter worth $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 155.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the third quarter worth $51,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 31.7% during the 3rd 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. 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.