Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 26.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 39,054 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $26,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avion Wealth bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Trium Capital LLP bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. 84.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:AWK opened at $130.67 on Tuesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $114.25 and a one year high of $162.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $125.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.11. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.99% and a net margin of 22.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 14th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 13th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 58.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Monday, October 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $169.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other news, Director Michael Marberry acquired 3,786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $130.20 per share, for a total transaction of $492,937.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $971,161.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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 1,600 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.4 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.