American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Stock Position Decreased by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc decreased its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,636,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,041,719 shares during the quarter. American Water Works comprises about 2.6% of Impax Asset Management Group plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $576,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 155.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in American Water Works by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AWK. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.57.

American Water Works Stock Up 3.1 %

NYSE AWK opened at $132.63 on Monday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $150.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $124.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.63.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. On average, analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current 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 issued 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 2.31%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 56.77%.

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.