Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Sells 1,279 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. decreased its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 50,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,279 shares during the quarter. American Water Works makes up approximately 1.5% of Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $6,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 155.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in American Water Works by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.57.

American Water Works Trading Up 2.7 %

American Water Works stock opened at $137.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $125.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68. The stock has a market cap of $26.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 56.77%.

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.