Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $2.02 Million Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of 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 bought 16,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,017,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% during the fourth 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. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AWK opened at $140.90 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $131.33 and its 200 day moving average is $134.51. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $152.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AWK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com cut shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.86.

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.