American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Stock Bought by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,810 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $6,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 51,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,953,000 after purchasing an additional 5,196 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Family Trust purchased a new position in American Water Works during the 3rd quarter worth $179,000. M&G PLC increased its position in American Water Works by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 927,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,699,000 after buying an additional 46,551 shares in the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 17,601.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 712,315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $92,223,000 after buying an additional 708,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 103.0% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 6,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 3,114 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group downgraded American Water Works from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $162.00 in a report on Friday, November 6th. Huntington downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Truist Financial set a $139.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Mizuho set a $149.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of American Water Works from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.12.

Key Headlines Impacting American Water Works

These are some of the AWK headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Argus turned more bullish: The firm raised its price target from $155 to $165 and reiterated a “buy” rating, implying potential upside from the quoted share price. Argus rating details
• Positive Sentiment: Potential customer-base expansion: Stone County voters approved selling a local public water system to Missouri American Water, a subsidiary of AWK. The announcement did not provide transaction terms or timing. Stone County water-system sale
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concern: A Yahoo Finance article argued AWK could be about 31% overvalued despite merger approval, which could weigh on investor sentiment if the market agrees with its valuation assessment. AWK valuation article

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $147.62 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $120.57 and a twelve month high of $153.69. The company’s 50 day moving average is $137.61 and its 200 day moving average is $133.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $29.39 billion, a PE ratio of 25.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.56.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by ($0.04). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 21.26%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a $0.8950 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.05%.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc. is a U.S. water and wastewater utility that provides services to residential, commercial, industrial, and public-sector customers. Its operations include treating and distributing drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and maintaining the infrastructure needed to deliver those services. The company operates regulated water and wastewater utilities across multiple states, serving communities in regions including the Northeast, Midwest, and South. Through contracted operations, it also provides water and wastewater services to certain military installations and municipal customers.