American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Stock Holdings Trimmed by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,165,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,802 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $153,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its position in American Water Works by 110.8% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 79.2% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in American Water Works during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc increased its position in American Water Works by 266.7% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on AWK shares. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK stock traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $120.16. 248,968 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,447,493. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $152.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $119.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.63.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.04. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.30% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In related news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total value of $100,814.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,240 shares in the company, valued at $1,942,141.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.