State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $3.37 Million Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $3,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in American Water Works by 120.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,180,000 after buying an additional 1,736,258 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in American Water Works by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,695,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $335,592,000 after buying an additional 747,316 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 20,534.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 615,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $90,770,000 after buying an additional 612,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $71,120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.22.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $141.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $143.39 and a 200-day moving average of $136.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.71. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.74 and a 12 month high of $155.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 22.24%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a $0.8275 dividend. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

Insider Activity

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.