American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $151.96, but opened at $155.00. American Water Works shares last traded at $152.54, with a volume of 173,523 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AWK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.86.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $27.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The business's 50-day moving average price is $136.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.23.

Remove Ads

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 120.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $395,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,258 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,695,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $335,592,000 after purchasing an additional 747,316 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 4,227.0% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 711,927 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 695,474 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 20,534.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 615,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $90,770,000 after buying an additional 612,324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

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.