American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Stock Purchased by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,196 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $6,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in American Water Works in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 73.1% during the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $149.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $136.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.96. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.57 and a 52-week high of $153.69. The company has a market cap of $29.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.56.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 21.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AWK shares. Weiss Ratings raised American Water Works from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Barclays cut their price objective on American Water Works from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Huntington downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Truist Financial set a $139.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.14.

American Water Works Profile

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.