RWC Asset Management LLP Acquires Shares of 20,932 American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

RWC Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 20,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,606,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in American Water Works by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $300,739,000 after acquiring an additional 125,128 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $277,000. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in American Water Works by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 42,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in American Water Works by 65.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 106,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,557,000 after acquiring an additional 42,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $1,783,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $132.63 on Monday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $150.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.39.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 56.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has a consensus 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.