American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on AWK. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.86.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of AWK stock traded down $2.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $142.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,548,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,651. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. American Water Works has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $152.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $130.55 and a 200 day moving average of $134.54. The firm has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.