American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Purchased by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AWK opened at $146.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $28.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $144.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.03. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is 60.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group downgraded shares of American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.22.

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.