Dark Forest Capital Management LP Grows Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 170.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,529 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in American Water Works were worth $697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 1.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 376,348 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,560 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the third quarter valued at $716,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in American Water Works by 4.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 54,677 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,996,000 after acquiring an additional 2,269 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new position in American Water Works in the third quarter valued at $221,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 3.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,034,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $145,170,000 after purchasing an additional 29,961 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK traded up $1.47 on Tuesday, reaching $145.74. 764,201 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,223,634. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $155.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $142.60 and a 200-day moving average of $134.57. The firm has a market cap of $28.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. Equities analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AWK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on 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. UBS Group downgraded American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.00.

American Water Works 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.