28,677 Shares in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Purchased by Pensioenfonds Rail & OV

Pensioenfonds Rail & OV acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 28,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,713,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the second quarter worth $2,712,173,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in American Water Works by 35.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,911,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,962,116,000 after acquiring an additional 3,883,057 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,171,477,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,351,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $592,081,000 after acquiring an additional 179,127 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at $443,787,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of AWK traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $149.55. 1,261,144 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,103,428. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.57 and a 1 year high of $153.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $137.78 and its 200-day moving average is $133.33.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($0.04). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 21.26%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a $0.8950 dividend. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AWK. Weiss Ratings raised American Water Works from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Mizuho set a $149.00 price objective on American Water Works in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group lowered American Water Works from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $153.00 to $162.00 in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Huntington downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.12.

American Water Works News Summary

These are some of the AWK news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Argus issued a positive forecast for AWK’s share price, providing a favorable analyst signal. Argus Issues Positive Forecast for American Water Works Stock Price
• Neutral Sentiment: West Virginia American Water announced $580,000 of infrastructure upgrades in Oak Hill. The project reflects ongoing investment in the utility’s system, but its modest scale is unlikely to materially affect company-wide results. West Virginia American Water Announces Oak Hill Upgrades
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage discussed AWK’s dividend, a refreshed customer portal, and website-related signals, but the provided headlines do not indicate a material change to the company’s financial outlook. American Water Works Dividend Analysis American Water Works Refreshes Its Portal

American Water Works Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc. is a U.S. water and wastewater utility that provides services to residential, commercial, industrial, and public-sector customers. Its operations include treating and distributing drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and maintaining the infrastructure needed to deliver those services. The company operates regulated water and wastewater utilities across multiple states, serving communities in regions including the Northeast, Midwest, and South. Through contracted operations, it also provides water and wastewater services to certain military installations and municipal customers.