Pensioenfonds Rail & OV Takes Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Pensioenfonds Rail & OV bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 165,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $21,311,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AWK. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 945.5% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,806,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $238,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633,389 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its stake in American Water Works by 12,816.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,464,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $189,177,000 after buying an additional 1,453,334 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 1st quarter worth approximately $108,688,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,648,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,012,272,000 after buying an additional 624,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 70.3% in the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 958,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $117,115,000 after acquiring an additional 395,684 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

AWK opened at $145.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $143.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.15. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $28.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 21.93%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Equities analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 62.07%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AWK. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.29.

American Water Works 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.