Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 59.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,326 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Trium Capital LLP purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

AWK opened at $115.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $22.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $119.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.18. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $152.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.30% and a return on equity of 9.70%. American Water Works’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWK has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Water Works news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total transaction of $100,814.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,942,141.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About American Water Works

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.