American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Price Target Lowered to $128.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $147.00 to $128.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho downgraded American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.38.

American Water Works Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $126.47 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.71. American Water Works has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $150.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $128.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.81.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AWK. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in American Water Works by 1,131.1% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,438,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $210,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321,320 shares during the period. 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 purchasing an additional 695,474 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 14,944.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 537,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $786,750,000 after buying an additional 534,411 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 268.0% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 537,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,868,000 after buying an additional 391,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in American Water Works by 631.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 445,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,192,000 after buying an additional 384,836 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.