Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) to "Equal Weight"

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $129.00 price target on the utilities provider's stock, down from their previous price target of $133.00. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.04% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on AWK. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho downgraded American Water Works from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.00.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.3 %

AWK stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $121.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 759,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 812,742. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.48. American Water Works has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 4.2% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 1.2% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,424 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 2.9% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 3.4% during the third quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in 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 period. 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.