American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 345,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,885 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.18% of American Water Works worth $43,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AWK. StockNews.com raised shares of American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.86.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $147.36 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $135.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $28.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.34, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. Sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal 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.