American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Stock Holdings Lessened by Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lessened its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 147 shares during the quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AWK. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $2,606,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $936,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $774,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 1,176.5% in the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 20,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,566,000 after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.6 %

American Water Works stock opened at $135.01 on Thursday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $150.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $26.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.52.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 56.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.57.

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.