American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $142.29.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AWK shares. Mizuho lowered shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.7 %

AWK opened at $125.29 on Friday. American Water Works has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68. The company has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s fifty day moving average is $133.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Water Works

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in American Water Works by 0.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 969,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,709,000 after buying an additional 5,889 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in American Water Works by 129.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 502,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,470,000 after purchasing an additional 283,579 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,988,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 3.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,034,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $145,170,000 after buying an additional 29,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter worth approximately $221,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Company 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.