Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Acquires Shares of 13,780 American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,715,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in American Water Works by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $956,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in American Water Works by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 60,525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,534,000 after buying an additional 6,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Guys Formula LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 5,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

American Water Works stock opened at $125.76 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The company has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.72.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $129.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

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.