Analysts Set American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) PT at $141.86

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $141.86.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AWK. StockNews.com upgraded American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th.

Institutional Trading of American Water Works

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AWK. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 26.8% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 15,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,251,000 after buying an additional 2,371 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 1st quarter valued at $110,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,602,000 after buying an additional 2,496 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $139.00 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $137.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.20. American Water Works has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $155.50. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $27.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Equities analysts forecast that American Water Works will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

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.