Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Raises Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 163 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $300,739,000 after buying an additional 125,128 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth about $277,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 42,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,261,000 after buying an additional 2,562 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in American Water Works by 65.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 106,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,557,000 after acquiring an additional 42,094 shares during the period. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,783,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of AWK opened at $137.26 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $125.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.52. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The stock has a market cap of $26.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.