Plato Investment Management Ltd Acquires 491 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 155.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $136.21 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $26.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.27, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.34 and a 12-month high of $150.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $125.81 and its 200 day moving average is $134.37.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.57.

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.