JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Price Target to $128.00

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) had its target price reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $147.00 to $128.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $133.00 to $129.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have 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 $139.38.

American Water Works Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $126.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.71. American Water Works has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $150.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Water Works

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 1,131.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,438,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $210,313,000 after buying an additional 1,321,320 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 4,227.0% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 711,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 695,474 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 14,944.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 537,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $786,750,000 after acquiring an additional 534,411 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 268.0% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 537,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,868,000 after purchasing an additional 391,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 631.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 445,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,192,000 after purchasing an additional 384,836 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

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.