American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $151.50 and last traded at $149.82, with a volume of 786596 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $145.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

American Water Works Stock Up 2.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $29.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $127.25 and a 200 day moving average of $134.33. 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 (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in American Water Works by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 31.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 0.3% during the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 32,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,768,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in American Water Works by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.