Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Decreases Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 398 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $227,000. Pitcairn Co. purchased a new position in American Water Works during the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in American Water Works by 65.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 106,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,557,000 after buying an additional 42,094 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 2,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 390,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,566,000 after acquiring an additional 11,663 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of 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, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.86.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $141.04 on Thursday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $152.07. 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 50 day moving average price of $132.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

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.