American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $140.00.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AWK shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American Water Works from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $133.00 to $129.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE:AWK traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $127.82. 1,804,341 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,230,357. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock's 50-day moving average is $124.96 and its 200-day moving average is $134.92. The firm has a market cap of $24.91 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.72. American Water Works has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.59%.

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.