Waverly Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Waverly Advisors LLC lowered its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,752 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $9,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $277,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in American Water Works by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 65,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in American Water Works by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 77,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,647,000 after purchasing an additional 8,930 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in American Water Works by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 50,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $419,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AWK stock opened at $143.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $28.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.08. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.8275 dividend. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on AWK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com lowered American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.22.

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.