Prudential PLC Increases Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 186.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,357 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in American Water Works by 120.7% during 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 buying an additional 1,736,258 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased 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 valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 695,474 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $71,120,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $553,687,000 after acquiring an additional 477,411 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

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

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock traded up $2.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $145.36. 416,598 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,236,552. The stock has a market cap of $28.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $155.50. The firm's fifty day moving average is $137.36 and its 200-day moving average is $134.19.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.